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Taco Bell, Pizza Hut nix artificial ingredients

Hadley Malcolm
USA TODAY
Taco Bell has committed to removing artificial colors and flavors from its food by the end of 2015.

Taco Bell and Pizza Hut are the latest brands to commit to a menu redo as they phase out artificial ingredients this year.

Taco Bell's nacho cheese no longer will be colored with yellow No. 6 as the chain plans to get rid of artificial flavors and colors by the end of the year. Pizza Hut is booting fake coloring and flavors from almost all pizzas except a few local offerings by the end of July. Both chains are owned by Yum Brands (YUM).

Pizza Hut has been working toward the change for the past year, the company said Tuesday, redeveloping products so that flavor wouldn't be compromised.

"Today's consumer more than ever before wants to understand the ingredients that make up the foods that they enjoy," Pizza Hut CEO David Gibbs said in a company statement.

The changes at Taco Bell will apply to more than 95% of the menu, not including drinks or co-branded products such as those made with Doritos. Taco Bell's avocado ranch dressing and red tortilla chips also will lose dyes that deepened the color of the food. Beef will get a sprinkle of real black pepper, instead of "black pepper flavor." High-fructose corn syrup and unsustainable palm oil will also be nixed.

Fast-food and fast-casual chains have been moving away from artificial ingredients as they look to gain more favor with consumers seeking natural foods. Panera said it is in the process of removing artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners and preservatives from its food by the end of 2016. Subway, McDonald's and Chipotle also have gotten rid of ingredients in certain items that customers are turned off by, such as genetically modified organisms and chemicals that also are used in non-food products such as yoga mats and shoe soles.

More food companies are likely to follow, says Michelle Greenwald, a marketing professor at Columbia Business School. "These other places don't want to be losing out to the Paneras and the Chipotles," she says.

Plus, consumers just care more about what they're eating, how it was made and where it came from. "People are reading labels more," Greenwald says. "If you're conditioned to do that at home, well then you're curious about what you're eating outside."

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