Pizza Hut, Taco Bell Pledge To Remove Artificial Ingredients

The growing group of restaurants and food companies that are removing artificial ingredients from their recipes has now gained two new members.

According to Reuters, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut, two of Yum! Brands Inc (NYSE: YUM)'s key franchises, have committed to removing artificial colors and flavors from their menu items.

Timetable

Taco Bell intends to replace all of its artificial flavoring and colors, as well as additives such as trans-fats, in its foods with natural alternatives by the end of 2015. In addition, the company will continue to look for ways to replace additional additives and artificial preservatives “where possible” by the end of 2017.

Pizza Hut plans on eliminating all artificial flavors and colors from its pizzas in the U.S. by the end of July.

Growing Pressure From Consumers

The growing popularity of organic and natural food coupled with an increasing consumer awareness of the potential health dangers of artificial ingredients has placed unprecedented pressure on food and restaurant companies to provide healthier, more natural product offerings.

Food companies face a delicate balance of modifying the recipes of popular and profitable products to placate angry consumers while maintaining both the profits and the taste of strong, well established food brands.

Companies Responding To The Call

Yum! Brands is the latest in a long string of food companies making menu changes in recent months to eliminate unnatural ingredients.

Pizza Hut and Taco Bell join the ranks of Panera Bread Co (NASDAQ: PNRA), Hershey Co (NYSE: HSY), Kraft Foods Group Inc (NYSE: KRFT), PepsiCo Inc (NYSE: PEP), McDonalds Corp (NYSE: MCD), Tyson Foods Inc (NYSE: TSN) and Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc (NYSE: CMG) in actively responding to consumer demands for more natural ingredients.