Smucker joins a growing number of big food companies that have announced plans to eliminate artificial dyes.

  • Mouselemming@sh.itjust.works
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    3 days ago

    I had to check, because I was pretty sure there’s already no dyes in their jam and that is true.

    You can make jam easily by boiling 2 cups rinsed and hulled (and cut if you like smaller bits) strawberries with the juice of a lemon and 2 cups of sugar for about 8 minutes, scraping the bottom with a silicone spatula or wooden spoon. It will be a nice bright color without any help. If you’re not proficient with doing sterile jars, store half in the fridge and half in the freezer.

    Turns out the dyes are mostly in Hostess baked goods and other companies they’ve acquired.

    • pelespirit@sh.itjust.works
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      2 days ago

      This is the way. I make a great sweet and sour sauce with frozen cranberries, sugar, a little butter and water. Making stuff at home is so much better tasting, you don’t over eat it and it’s cheaper.

      • Mouselemming@sh.itjust.works
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        2 days ago

        Storebought is fine if you need jam and don’t have time or energy.

        But if you aren’t up for eating all of those fresh berries in the fridge before they go bad, there’s a reason it’s called “preserves.” And you can mix different berries, even pitted cherries, or I’ve added a pouch of açai before, it’s all good, just different. If you want it smooth, use a blender or scrape it through a strainer. I’ve subbed Xylitol for the sugar and it works too.

  • Unless they had, like, blue raspberry you don’t really need artificial dyes in jams, jellies, or preserves unless you’re adding a bunch of extra bullshit that overtakes the fruit’s natural color beyond the sugar and pectin.

    • foggy@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      Nah I’d bet it’s for better sales beyond reasonable shelf life, fight against oxidation discoloration causing a miniscule drop in sales close to the sell by date.

      The difference it makes is marginal but when you lead sales in anything, marginal changes are like millions of dollars.

  • candyman337@lemmy.world
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    3 days ago

    Companies announcing this like they’re doing it because it’s good when it’s really it’s because of a hair brained mandate by RFK

    • Forester@pawb.social
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      2 days ago

      I mean he’s a crazy nut but I’m kind of behind this one. I do not think we should be dying our food to make it look more palatable

      • Catoblepas@piefed.blahaj.zone
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        2 days ago

        Removing artificial coloring doesn’t mean they’ll no longer be dyeing food, it means they’ll be using bugs (cochineal) and algae to do it, along with other natural dyes.

        • candyman337@lemmy.world
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          2 days ago

          Yes thank you all this changes is it’ll be harder for brands to produce dues and that cost will be passed onto the customer

          • Catoblepas@piefed.blahaj.zone
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            2 days ago

            If it was just a cost thing I wouldn’t necessarily mind, but it hasn’t been established that natural dyes are always safer than artificial ones. Sometimes taking a lot of a natural thing and concentrating it also concentrates what would otherwise be a low level contaminant that wasn’t concerning, because you’d never consume enough of the non-concentrated thing for it to matter.

        • steal_your_face@lemmy.ml
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          2 days ago

          Haven’t artificial dyes been banned from most countries because they cause cancer and shit? Fuck RFK but this one seems actually beneficial.

  • 21Cabbage@lemmynsfw.com
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    2 days ago

    Nothing of theirs comes to mind that you’d even have to dye in the first place, hell half their products could probably be used as a dye.

  • astrsk@fedia.io
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    3 days ago

    Doubt this is gonna lower prices. I’ll still only buy local jams and jellies.