Cereal giant dumps artificial ingredients

NEW YORK - General Mills (GIS) is dropping artificial colors and flavors from its cereals, the latest company to respond to a growing desire for food made with ingredients people see as natural.

The company said Monday that Trix and Reese's Puffs will be among the first cereals to undergo the changes. The Minneapolis company says cereals like Lucky Charms that have marshmallows may take longer to reformulate. It says 90 percent of its cereals will have no artificial ingredients by the end of 2016.

A range of food companies including Subway, Pizza Hut, Panera, Hershey and Nestle have said in recent months that they're removing artificial ingredients from some or all products. Companies say the changes are a response to a demand for food made with ingredients people can recognize.