Nestle Confectionery's Artificial Ingredients Get Axed In UK

Nestle, the world's biggest food company, just announced that it would has removed all artificial ingredients from the candy it sells in the U.K. That means that all the flavors and dyes in its British candy are now derived from so-called "natural" sources.

The move towards natural ingredients began in 2005. It's taken almost seven years to find suitable alternatives for all the old artificial ingredients.

Nestle's U.K. candy brands include some of the country's most distinctive sweets: Kit-Kats, Smarties and Milky bar, which is the best-selling chocolate in the country.

A representative from Nestle U.S., though, said that there are currently no plans to make a similar change in the States. "That call is being made for that market at this time," she said.

That's not exactly surprising. What North America is for burgers and fries, the British Isles are for candy. Brits love candy as much as almost anyone in the world, so it's a huge, intensely competitive market for candy, with constant innovation -- so they're always one step ahead of everyone else.