NEW YORK, April 30 (Reuters) - Yogurt maker Danone

is looking to remove artificial dyes from its U.S.

portfolio, which includes the Yo Crunch and Light & Fit brands,

said Shane Grant, CEO of the company's Americas business, in an

interview on Wednesday.

U.S. food makers are under pressure to remove artificial

dyes from their products after health regulators said last week

they are phasing them out of the food supply through voluntary

action by manufacturers.

Grant said the France-based company is working to determine

how it can remove artificial dyes from across its portfolio,

citing U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s "Make

America Healthy Again" agenda and Americans' growing awareness

of health as reasons for the change.

Kennedy has said the dyes are harmful to children, while

scientists say the area requires more research.

Roughly 2% of the company's products use artificial dyes,

Grant said.

Its Yo Crunch vanilla yogurt with M&Ms candy and Light & Fit

Greek key lime pie remix products use artificial dyes, according

to their ingredient lists. Oikos, another Danone brand, does not

use artificial dyes in its products, a company spokesperson

said. Danone did not provide the full list of its U.S. products

that include the dyes.

"We're working across our supplier base to determine the

best path," Grant said, adding that none of Danone's products

sold in U.S. schools use synthetic colors.

Kennedy said last week that he had an understanding with the

food industry to remove artificial dyes from food, but a source

told Reuters there was no agreement.

The Consumer Brands Association, a trade group, had listed

developing new products without artificial dyes and

reformulating products to remove them as steps industry would

take in a policy document sent to Kennedy's Department of Health

and Human Services in March.

Arizona and West Virginia have banned schools from serving

food colored with artificial dyes, and many other states are

considering banning their sale altogether.