Dunkin' Donuts is celebrating a milestone this year.
- Company says customers brought up artificial, synthetic dyes
- Dunkin' says spreads are now made with authentic ingredients
- Doctor says change is good, but donuts still high in sugar, carbs
The brand is taking out artificial dyes from its donuts and other products.
"Our customers asked us and talked to us about having less ingredients in the products that we're serving them, and one of the items that came up a lot was artificial dyes and synthetic dyes," said Betsy Beck, Dunkin' Donuts field marketing manager.
The first change was synthetic colorings coming out of cream cheeses.
Dunkin' says spreads are now made with authentic ingredients, like real pieces of strawberries.
Next, time to make the donuts! They are now free of artificial dyes.
"We're just answering what the customers have asked for, which is a cleaner product, a more high quality product," said franchise owner Ava Lawrence.
Dunkin' says what you will see is a colorful case of confections made with cleaner ingredients. (Photo: Dunkin' Donusts)
By the end of the year, Dunkin says icings, fillings, toppings, beverages and baked goods will contain colors only from natural sources.
Dr. David Berger with Wholistic Pediatrics and Family Care in Tampa is glad a major brand is ditching the dyes, saying some people are demanding a cleaner lifestyle, while others are reactive.
"More issues with people in the attention deficit disorder world, people who have different behavioral, cognitive disorders, a lot of the kids on the autism spectrum seem to do better when they’re avoiding those artificial substances as well," Berger said.
For Lawrence, it's a win professionally and personally.
"I have two ADD/ADHD kids in my house. It makes it a lot better that there's no red dye in the donuts anymore, because now they can eat any of the donuts and I don’t have to worry about red dye in something," said Lawrence.
You're probably wondering what taking out the dye will do to the taste.
"We have high quality ingredients, our customers should not taste the difference as all," said Beck.
Dunkin' says what you will see is a colorful case of confections made with cleaner ingredients.
Dr. Berger reminds that a donut minus the dyes is a positive change, but the food is still high in sugar and carbs and should be eaten in moderation.