A synthetic red dye used in thousands of food and drink products has been banned by US officials after being linked to cancer. Bright cherry-colored Red No 3 had its use authorization revoked on Wednesday by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA),
The artificial food dye can be found in candy, beverages, chips and other packaged foods — often consumed by children.
Red No. 3. is commonly found in candy, gum, and cookies, including Brach’s candy corn, Betty Crocker sprinkles, and strawberry Ensure over links to cancer.
The Food and Drug Administration announced Wednesday it had decided to revoke Red 3's authorization to be added to foods, over concerns about how the food coloring dye has been linked to cancer in laboratory animals.
Studies show that high doses could cause cancer in rats, but the regulators maintain that no evidence exists that ingesting the coloring causes cancer in humans.
Explore FDA bans red dye No. 3 from foods. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the former presidential candidate nominated by incoming President Donald Trump to lead the Department of Health a
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has officially banned red dye — called Red 3, or Erythrosine — from foods, dietary supplements and ingested medicines, as reported on Wednesday.
Red dye No. 3 has been permissible for use in food despite the Delaney Clause of the FDA’s Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. The clause, in part, “prohibits the FDA from approving a color additive that is ingested if it causes cancer in animals or humans when ingested,” according to the agency .
Food dye Red No. 3 has been banned by the FDA. Are there other food additives that could soon be forbidden the same way?
The FDA issued a ban on the use of red dye No. 3 in food and beverage products and ingested drugs. The synthetic dye has been linked to cancer in animal studies and was banned more than 30 years ago in cosmetics and topical drugs.
The FDA has banned Red No. 3, a dye linked to cancer, from food and drinks, impacting products like sports drinks and cereals.
Food and beverage manufacturers must reformulate thousands of products, including candy and cereal, that use the petroleum-based coloring by Jan. 15, 2027.