Kraft Macaroni & Cheese is getting a natural makeover

(Image credit: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

Kraft Macaroni & Cheese's electric orange hue will soon be a thing of the past: Starting next January, the company will no longer sell its original version with artificial preservatives and colors, instead using paprika, annatto, and turmeric to give the dish its tint.

The change comes as consumers continue to shy away from processed foods, and while Kraft was willing to adapt, they had to make sure the taste wasn't altered. "We weren't ready to change the product until we were confident that Kraft Macaroni & Cheese tastes like Kraft Macaroni & Cheese," the company said. Kraft already has one product on the market, Kraft Mac & Cheese Boxed Shapes, without artificial flavors, preservatives, or synthetic colors, and plans to roll out additional preservative-free macaroni and cheese varieties later in 2016.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.