McCormick Is Watching FDA’s Natural Color Petitions as It Moves Off Synthetic Dyes

One of the world’s biggest spice and flavor companies is watching three federal changes at once: synthetic dyes, GRAS and the definition of ultra-processed food.

TLDR

• McCormick is among the food makers voluntarily removing FD&C colors from its consumer products and ingredients, Food Business News reported.
• It is tracking FDA petitions for new natural colors to bring to customers.
• A federal ultra-processed food definition could be “transformational,” its regulatory lead said.
• The proposed mandatory GRAS rule would cover packaging as well as ingredients.

Colors

Marsha Forman, senior regulatory affairs manager at McCormick & Co., spoke at Pack Expo in Chicago this week, Food Business News reported. She noted that only Red No. 3 has been formally banned so far. Even so, McCormick has joined other manufacturers in voluntarily removing FD&C colors from its consumer packaged goods and ingredients, according to the report, which did not say how far along that work is. “The FDA has said they’re going to expedite looking at natural color solutions,” Forman said. “We’re monitoring those petitions so we have those ready to bring to our customers.” McCormick has been “at the forefront of finding natural solutions for some of our customers,” Forman said.

The UPF Definition

Forman called the coming federal definition of ultra-processed food potentially “transformational.” She is watching California, which has adopted its own definition, and suggested it could become a national standard, the way California’s early “organic” definition did.

GRAS and Front-of-Pack

FDA has proposed making GRAS notification mandatory. Forman pointed out that the rule would reach packaging as well as ingredients. She also flagged FDA’s proposed front-of-pack “Nutrition Info box,” which would highlight saturated fat, sodium and added sugar. Its timing is uncertain, but McCormick is helping customers work on sodium and sugar reduction now so they are ready if it is finalized.

Why It Matters

Flavor and seasoning suppliers sit inside thousands of other companies’ products. When a supplier like McCormick moves off synthetic dyes and starts planning around a UPF definition and mandatory GRAS, its customers’ reformulation timelines move with it.

Source: Food Business News. Read the report.