Our Health Matters
The FDA finally banks Red 3 dye
U.S. regulators on Wednesday banned the dye called Red 3 from the nation’s food supply, nearly 35 years after it was barred from cosmetics because of potential cancer risk.
The agency said it was taking the action as a “matter of law” because some studies have found that the dye caused cancer in lab rats. Officials cited a statute known as the Delaney Clause, which requires the FDA to ban any additive found to cause cancer in people or animals.
The dye is 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 the use of Red 3 in cosmetics and externally applied drugs because a study showed it caused cancer when eaten by rats.
When the FDA declined Red 3 in cosmetics and topical drugs in 1990, the color additive was already permitted in foods and ingested drugs.
The FDA claims the research then that the way the dye causes cancer in rats does not apply to humans; “the FDA did not take action to revoke the authorization of Red No. 3 in food,” the agency said on its website.
Food manufacturers will have until January 2027 to remove the dye from their products, while makers of ingested drugs have until January 2028 to do the same. Other countries still allow for certain uses of the dye, but imported foods must meet the new U.S. requirement.
