Red 3
At long last, the FDA is ending the regulatory paradox of Red 3 being illegal for use in lipstick, but perfectly legal to feed to children in the form of candy - Peter Lurie MD MPH
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image by: Steph N Chad Haifley
HWN Suggests
Red Dye No. 3: A candy-colored controversy
Raising a red flag. Before you take a bite of that red velvet cake, be warned—some research suggests that it could come with a side of carcinogens. Tempting as brightly colored foods may be, synthetic dyes have a track record of harmful health effects. Red dye no. 40 and yellow no. 5, among other dyes, have been linked to hyperactivity in children. Now red dye no. 3, also known as erythrosine, is the latest food coloring to come under closer scrutiny from both US lawmakers and regulators for safety reasons. It’s been banned from use in cosmetics and topical medications for over three decades. So why is the red synthetic coloring, produced from petroleum, still found in candies, maraschino…
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FDA Bans Red No. 3, Leaving 8 Synthetic Dyes In America’s Food
On Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration banned Red No. 3 from all foods, beverages, and ingested drugs. Companies must remove Red No. 3 from their products by January 2027. While this is a step in the right direction, there are still eight artificial dyes approved for human consumption. What are they, which foods contain them, and what are the health risks to humans?
What Foods Use Red Dye No. 3—and Why Was It Just Banned?
Find out which kinds of snacks and beverages might be affected.
What Foods Will Be Impacted by FDA’s Ban on Red Dye No. 3—And What Could Replace It
Ronholm says that many companies around the world have already started using alternatives to Red 3, such as beet extract or other natural substitutes. “That’s another frustrating piece of this, from a consumer perspective: Red Dye 3 is banned in other parts of the world, and so substitutes are already being used that are more natural, less toxic, and in a lot of cases, just as cost effective,” Ronholm says. “It’s frustrating to think that these food companies are making available these safer versions in other parts of the world, but the inferior versions remain for sale here in the U.S.”
FDA Bans Red Dye No. 3 From Foods
The dye is known as erythrosine, FD&C Red No. 3 or Red 3. The ban removes it from the list of approved color additives in foods, dietary supplements and oral medicines, such as cough syrups. More than three decades ago, the FDA declined to authorize use of Red 3 in cosmetics and externally applied drugs because a study showed it caused cancer when eaten by rats.
Keep red dye No. 3, other potentially harmful additives out of food to protect Illinoisans’ health
Artificial coloring may give our food some pizazz, but the potential adverse effects of ingesting products with the eye-catching accents, particularly red dye, has been cause for concerns for decades. Other red dyes have been banned previously because of studies linking them to cancer. However, red dye No. 3 remains a staple in many items found in grocery stores, even though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration prohibited the cosmetics industry from using the additive for similar reasons in 1990.
US bans red dye 3 from some frosting, candy and medicine
Food manufacturers using red No 3 will have until January 2027 to reformulate their products, while drug manufacturers will have an extra year - until January 2028 - to adjust. Food imported into the US also will have to comply with the new ban, the FDA said.
California Bans Popular Red Food Dye Additive and Other Chemicals for Potential Health Risks
Red dye No. 3 is found in thousands of consumer goods you may use daily. Here’s what to know.
California’s Ban on Red Food Dye Puts F.D.A.’s Food Policies on the Spot
The dye was banned in cosmetics after a study suggested it might be a carcinogen. Yet federal regulations still permit its use in foods, stoking concerns that helped build support for the new state law.
FDA announces ban on red dye No. 3. Here's what to expect — and why some families already avoid the food coloring.
“This is wonderful news and long overdue,” Melanie Benesh, vice president for government affairs at the Environmental Working Group, one of several organizations that petitioned the agency to take action on the additive, told the New York Times. “Red dye 3 is the lowest of the low-hanging fruit when it comes to toxic food dyes that the FDA should be addressing.”
FDA bans red dye #3 in food: What this means for your health
Bethlehem-based Just Born, which stopped using red dye #3 last year, told 69 News, "Just Born has always evolved with new developments and consumer preferences. We have removed Red #3 from all PEEPS products." They're not alone: a lot of companies have already stopped using red dye #3, but they're still using red dye # 40. "At least that has not been reported as any major cancer risk," said Dr. Loaiza-Bonilla. Dr. Loaiza-Bonilla believes this is just the start of a trend to remove harmful additives.
FDA Bans Red Dye No. 3 From Food, Beverages and Ingested Drugs, Citing Link to Cancer in Lab Rats
After decades of debate, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced a ban on Red Dye No. 3, a synthetic food coloring that’s been linked to cancer in male lab rats. The decision comes after a petition filed in 2022 by advocacy groups, including the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), and follows mounting state-level legislation, most notably a ban in California. The federal ban will take effect in 2027, giving manufacturers time to reformulate their products.
FDA Bans Red Dye No. 3 From Foods Due to Possible Cancer Risk
So basically, other than adding color to your food, it’s pointless—and actually harmful. In fact, research has shown that it’s potentially carcinogenic.
FDA bans red dye No. 3 in foods, decades after additive found to cause cancer in rats
Food additive had been on enemies list of many consumer groups, as well as RFK Jr.
FDA Bans Use Of Red Dye No. 3 In Foods—What To Know About The Chemical
The Food and Drug Administration has announced it will ban the use of artificial food coloring Red No. 3, which has been linked to thyroid cancer in animals, after years of prodding by parents and health advocates, one state ban and action by dozens of other countries.
FDA faces pressure to act nationwide on red dye in food
In regard to a potential cancer risk identified back in 1990, the agency argues this risk is specific to rats. "These data have been carefully studied and widely understood among the scientific community to not be relevant to human cancer," the spokesperson wrote in an email to NPR.
Food Dyes A Rainbow of Risks
Red 3 was recognized in 1990 by the FDA as a thyroid carcinogen in animals and is banned in cosmetics and externally applied drugs. All uses of Red 3 lakes (combinations of dyes and salts that are insoluble and used in low-moisture foods) are also banned. However, the FDA still permits Red 3 in ingested drugs and foods, with about 200,000 pounds of the dye being used annually. The FDA needs to revoke that approval.
Red Dye No. 3 Banned in CA, Linked to Behavioral Problems
Red Dye No. 3 was approved for use in food in 1907 but was banned in cosmetics in 1990 after studies found it caused cancer in lab animals. Food safety advocates, scientists, and doctors have urged the FDA to issue a nationwide ban on synthetic food dyes for years. (Red No. 3 is already banned in The European Union, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, China, and Japan.)
The data and puzzling history behind California’s new red food dye ban
Last weekend, California outlawed a common red food dye that is otherwise deemed safe by the Food and Drug Administration—the first such ban in the country and one that puzzlingly comes over three decades after the FDA determined the dye causes cancer in rats and banned it from lipsticks and other cosmetics, but not foods. The dye is FD&C Red No. 3, also known as red dye No. 3. Today, it is found in thousands of food products—from Brach's Candy Corn and varieties of Nerds, Peeps, Pez, candy canes, Fruit by the Foot, to Entenmann's Little Bites Mini Muffins, Betty Crocker mashed potatoes, fruit cocktail, PediaSure nutritional shakes, and MorningStar Farm's veggie bacon strips.
The FDA is banning Red Dye 3. Are these next?
Advocates are pushing for more U.S. regulation of these commonly used food additives, many of which are already banned or restricted abroad. Artificial dyes aren’t the only additive used to make food more visually enticing. Because of its light-scattering properties, titanium dioxide can be used not only to artificially brighten whites but also make muted tones more vibrant.
What to Know About California’s New Law Banning Food Additives, Including Red Dye No. 3
Already prohibited in multiple countries for its potential harmful effects in humans, the colorant’s future is now in serious doubt in the United States.
Why the FDA is facing pressure to ban red food dye
The additive is a carcinogen but is still heavily present in our food.
Red Dye No. 3: A candy-colored controversy
Are maraschino cherries a menace?

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