WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — Hy-Vee Inc. customers will soon have not only more healthy choices in store aisles but also fewer ingredients to read on product labels. The Midwestern supermarket chain announced changes to select Hy-Vee brand food items last month as part of its Clean Honest Ingredients label initiative.

The retailer said it plans by July 2018 to eliminate more than 200 artificial ingredients or synthetic chemicals — such as high-fructose corn syrup, artificial flavors and colors, and partially hydrogenated oils — in 1,000 of its own label products. A handful of these private label food items can already be found in Hy-Vee stores, according to the company.

“Hy-Vee takes great care to provide our customers with authenticity and transparency when it comes to the products in our stores,” said Jeremy Gosch, Hy-Vee’s executive vice president of strategy and chief merchandising officer. “As the demand increases for food products that contain natural, familiar and simple ingredients, we are doing our best to meet those expectations within our Hy-Vee label offerings.”