The previously unreported target comes as food companies face mounting pressure to offer healthier products amid the rapid rise of GLP-1 weight-loss ​drugs and growing consumer scrutiny of food ingredients.

It extends Nestle’s efforts ​beyond the United States, where it has already eliminated artificial ⁠colourings from its portfolio.

“By the end of the year we will have ​the global Nestle portfolio free of artificial colours,” Stefan Palzer, Nestle’s technology ​chief, told Reuters in an exclusive interview at the firm’s Swiss headquarters in Vevey.

Food manufacturers and retailers have increasingly moved to strip out ingredients such as FD&C synthetic dyes and ​sweeteners including corn syrup from their products.

Amid investor concerns that packaged ​food companies could lose out as consumers shift towards healthier diets, Nestle has increasingly focused ‌on products aimed at weight-conscious consumers and those concerned about processed foods.

“It was not a slam-dunk,” Palzer said of the decision, adding that Nestle had spent years investing in the transition.

“We had to do a lot of ​R&D work because you ​have to ⁠screen all the natural solutions, then you have to test those natural solutions during production, and then also test ​their shelf-life.”

“We did it because consumers don’t appreciate artificial ​ingredients. They ⁠want simpler recipes.”

US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr and the Food and Drug Administration said in April last year that the agency aims to ⁠remove ingredients including artificial food colourings, citing concerns over ​possible links to conditions such as ADHD, obesity and diabetes, although many scientists say more ​research is needed.