The FDA has banned the dye Red 3 from the nation’s food supply after concerns about potential cancer risk, which led to a petition by food safety and health advocates.
Driving the news: Red 3, also known as erythrosine or FD&C Red No. 3, has been linked to causing cancer in lab rats, triggering the FDA’s decision to remove it from approved color additives in foods and oral medicines.
- Food manufacturers must remove Red 3 from their products by January 2027, while makers of ingested drugs have until January 2028 to comply with the ban.
- Consumer advocates, including the Center for Science in the Public Interest, praised the FDA’s decision to ban Red 3, highlighting the need to eliminate double standards regarding its use in cosmetics versus food products.
- Despite the ban, some manufacturers may challenge it if evidence regarding the dye’s cancer-causing effects in humans is not conclusive, as per statements from FDA officials.
