Nestlé has become the first major candy manufacturer in the United Kingdom to remove all artificial ingredients from its entire confectionery product line.
The company has replaced artificial colors, flavors and preservatives with natural alternatives in all 79 candy products on the market.
Carrot, hibiscus, radish, and lemon are just some of the natural ingredients Nestlé has used to provide color or flavor in popular products such as Rolo, Kit Kat and Smarties.
Consumer Demand Wins the Day
Nestlé made the changes in response to consumer pressure in the UK for fewer artificial ingredients in food.
The Daily Mail newspaper first highlighted the use of food dyes in products such as Nestle’s Smarties in 2005. It launched a ‘Ban the Additives’ campaign in 2007 following research which found that normal healthy children became hyperactive when fed a constant diet of additives commonly used in sweets, cakes, and sodas.
“This is a significant milestone,” said David Rennie, Managing Director of Nestlé Confectionery in the UK. “We are proud to be the only major confectionery company in the country to be 100% free of artificial preservatives, flavours or colours across our entire portfolio.”
The Nestle’s Crunch chocolate bar was the last product in the company’s seven-year campaign that has led to more than 80 artificial ingredients being replaced with alternatives.
Similar initiatives are also underway in Canada and a number of other European markets.
When will the US follow suit?