FDA bans Red 3 food dye over cancer risk

Red dye No. 3 ban overview:

• Who: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a ban on Red 3 food dye.
• Why: The agency said it is instituting the ban over concerns the dye poses a potential cancer risk. 
• Where: The Red dye No. 3 ban is effective nationwide.

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has banned Red 3 food dye from the nation’s food supply over concerns it poses a potential cancer risk. 

The dye, also known as erythrosine or FD&C Red No. 3, was already banned from cosmetics more than three decades ago. However, it has continued to be used in some candies, snack cakes and maraschino cherries, giving them a bright red hue, reports APNews. 

The decision grants a 2022 petition filed by two dozen food safety and health advocates urging the agency to revoke authorization for the substance.

The FDA said it was taking the action as a “matter of law” after some studies found the dye caused cancer in lab rats. 

In its decision, the agency cited the Delaney Clause, a statute requiring the agency to ban any additive found to cause cancer in people or animals, reports the Associated Press. 

Red dye No. 3 ban follows studies showing cancer risk

The ban removes Red 3 from the list of approved color additives in foods, dietary supplements and oral medicines, such as cough syrups.

“The FDA is taking action that will remove the authorization for the use of FD&C Red No. 3 in food and ingested drugs,” said Jim Jones, the FDA’s deputy commissioner for human foods in a statement, as reported by the Associated Press. 

“Evidence shows cancer in laboratory male rats exposed to high levels of FD&C Red No.3. Importantly, the way that FD&C Red No. 3 causes cancer in male rats does not occur in humans.”

The FDA’s decision to ban Red 3 has reportedly been welcomed by consumer advocacy groups, who have long argued that the dye poses a risk to human health.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), one of the organizations that petitioned the FDA, said the ban was “long overdue.”

“Red 3 has been on the FDA’s list of color additives for far too long, despite clear evidence of its carcinogenicity,” CSPI president Dr. Peter Lurie said in a statement.

The FDA’s ban on Red 3 will take effect immediately, but products containing the dye will be allowed to remain on store shelves until their current inventory is depleted. 

Red 3 — along with brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate and propylparaben — was previously part of a bill signed into law in 2023 by California Gov. Gavin Newsom that banned the additives from food products in the state. 

What do you think of the FDA’s Red dye No. 3 ban? Let us know in the comments.

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