Feb 10, 2014 03:22 PM EST By Jaleesa Baulkman, UniversityHerald Reporter

As food labels come under greater scrutiny, Kraft announced it is tweaking the recipe of its "most popular" individually wrapped cheese slices, The Associated Press reported.

The American manufacturer announced that it is removing artificial preservatives from Kraft Singles' full-fat American and White American varieties, which accounts for the majority of the brand's sales, The AP reported.

Sorbic acid in the products is being replaced by natamycin, which is a "natural mold inhibitor," according to Kraft.

The decision comes as a growing number of consumers grow "try to stick to diets they feel are natural" and become increasingly aware of the ingredients in their meals, The AP reported.

"Consumers are looking for those less artificial cues and messages," Gavin Schmidt, manager of cheese research and development at Kraft, told the AP. "Those messages are more meaningful to consumers than they have been in the past."

 This movement has prompted a number of food makers to change or improve their recipes.

Subway, an American fast food restaurant that primarily sells submarine sandwiches, announced last week that it would remove the chemical known as azodiacarbonamide from its sandwich breads after influential health activist and food blogger Vani Hari launched a petition asking Subway to stop using the ingredient.

Azodicarbonamide is used by a wide variety of chains including McDonald's and Starbucks, but Hari said she targeted Subway because the healthy image it tries to project.

"This is not eating fresh!" Hari's petition said.

"Even though such ingredients are permitted by the Food and Drug Administration, being able to tout a product as being free of them can be a selling point," the AP reported.

The new Kraft packages began appearing on supermarket shelves in recent weeks and come "stamped with a red circle noting they have no artificial preservatives or flavors."

Kraft plans to begin airing TV ads near the end of February touting that its Kraft Singles cheese are now "made with no artificial preservatives, " the AP reported.

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