FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Durham, NC – [Thursday, March 19, 2026]
As one of the nation’s leading collegiate dining programs, Duke Dining continues to set the standard for wellness-forward food service by removing artificial dyes and unnecessary additives from menu offerings across campus dining venues.
The True Blue initiative has officially been implemented at Farmstead, Ginger + Soy, Gyotaku, Sazón, Sprout, and Tandoor, with additional locations to follow. This initiative reflects Duke Dining’s commitment to prioritizing student health, supporting whole-food nutrition, and leading with integrity in campus dining by offering meals made with real, recognizable ingredients and free from synthetic food dyes and unnecessary chemical additives. Guests can easily identify verified locations by the True Blue logo, which signifies that a venue meets these ingredient standards.
Specific ingredients removed include:
Artificial colorants: FD&C Blue No. 1, FD&C Blue No. 2, FD&C Green No. 3, FD&C Red No. 3, FD&C Red No. 40, FD&C Yellow No. 5, FD&C Yellow No. 6, Orange B, Citrus Red No. 2, and FD&C Red No. 4.
Items listed as ‘artificial color,’ ‘color added,’ and ‘colour.’
Sweeteners/sugar substitutes: High Fructose Corn Syrup, Sucralose, Aspartame, Erythritol, Xylitol, Saccharin, Acesulfame, Sorbitol, Maltitol, Mannitol, Isomalt, Lactitol, Allulose, BHA/BHT, Potassium Bromate, Propylparaben, Azodicarbonamide (ADA), and Titanium Dioxide.
These additives are commonly found in some processed foods and are often used to enhance color, sweetness, or shelf life. Duke Student Health emphasizes that its Nutrition Services “educates, supports, and facilitates a student’s ability to develop lifelong healthy eating habits,” which generally align with a diet centered on whole, minimally processed foods.
“We’re proud to lead with integrity and purpose,” said Robert Coffey, Executive Director of Duke Dining. “Removing artificial dyes and additives is a natural extension of Duke Dining’s student-centered, wellness-driven approach.”
The updated ingredient standards have been implemented collaboratively with Duke Dining’s culinary teams, vendors, and campus partners. Menu transparency remains available through the NetNutrition online platform, which allows students to review nutritional information and make informed dining choices.
Scott Morse, owner of Brenz Pizza Co. and operator of on-campus locations Il Forno, Sazón, and The Chef’s Kitchen shared, “As the owner of five restaurants in the area, including three on-campus locations, we’ve always made it a priority to use the highest quality ingredients. Our families and team members eat with us, too, so taking care of people has always been at the heart of what we do. The transition was pretty smooth for us since we make nearly all of our food in-house and source as many ingredients locally as possible. Along the way, we also noticed that many of our team members had already made similar lifestyle changes and were becoming more aware of the health concerns around additives, dyes, and high fructose corn syrup.”
With True Blue now active in its first group of verified locations, Duke Dining is continuing to expand the initiative across campus. This effort marks another bold step in Duke Dining’s ongoing commitment to student wellness and culinary transparency, building on earlier successes such as the launch of It’s Thyme, the first stand-alone FARECheck Platinum-recognized dining venue in the country free of the top nine allergens and gluten, as well as the award-winning ASK ME® allergen-awareness campaign.