A grocery chain with stores in 30 states is making a major change to its private-label or "store brand" offerings, according to Grocery Dive.
Save A Lot, which boasted "approximately 700" locations across the United States in late 2025, issued a press release Jan. 7, announcing a broad effort to remove artificial food dyes from all of its privately labeled products.
Save A Lot planned to eliminate Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1, Blue 2, and Green 3 from its store-brand lineup by the end of 2027, and it expected to remove Red 3 entirely this year.
As Grocery Dive noted, the announcement aligned with an April U.S. Food and Drug Administration announcement urging food manufacturers to begin phasing out synthetic food dyes "by the end of 2027."
Concerns about the potential health risks of artificial food colorants, particularly for children, have emerged as a bipartisan issue in recent years. The state of West Virginia attempted a sweeping, statewide effort to eliminate food dyes, which stalled due to a manufacturer's lawsuit.
In early 2024, the Environmental Working Group addressed the controversy around synthetic food dyes, explaining that the U.S. was "one of the few industrialized countries without strict regulations" on their use.
EWG explained that food dyes are petroleum-based, adding that they were associated with "various health harms," including "behavioral and developmental issues in some children and the potential for increased risk of cancer."
Store brands have become exceedingly popular in recent years as food prices spiked, according to the Private Label Manufacturers Association's most recent analysis. In 2024, sales of private-label products increased by $9 billion, outpacing national brands by a wide margin.
On Dec. 17, Barron's reported that the trend started in 2022 and continued in 2025, pushing "store brands' market share to a record high of 21% of grocery purchases" last year.
The growth of private-label products — and retailers' focus on shoppers' interest in healthier offerings and plant-based options — was evidenced by the launch of newer store brands at major retailers such as Walmart (Bettergoods) and Target (Good & Gather).
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Save A Lot's director of quality assurance and food safety, Mary Tegomoh, emphasized a commitment to "both exceptional value and high-quality products" in the announcement.
"By removing artificial dyes from our products, we're making it easier for families to feel good about the choices they make every day, without sacrificing affordability or flavor," she said.
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