Latest to Flex Muscle on Yanking Food Dyes: Target

Target is about to turn the cereal aisle into a petri dish for food policy. The retailer tells Axios it will require all cereals on its shelves—store brands and big names alike—to be free of certified synthetic colors by the end of May, a move that effectively forces major manufacturers to rework recipes or lose access to Target's shoppers. Large chains don't often dictate ingredients to national brands, making this a notable flex of retailer power at a time when federal officials are stepping up scrutiny of artificial dyes, especially in products aimed at kids.

Walmart made a similar pledge last fall. Target's timeline, which Reuters notes applies to both in-store products and those sold online, is faster than many food giants' own pledges. General Mills, for instance, plans to pull synthetic colors from all its US cereals by this summer, with a full rollout by late 2027, per Axios. Other companies, including Kraft Heinz, have similar 2027 targets, but federal regulators have warned they could step in if progress stalls. With many dye-removal promises still in multiyear limbo, per the FDA's tracker, Target's cereal mandate serves as an early test of whether big retailers—not Washington—will end up driving what's in Americans' breakfast bowls.