USA bans red dye no. 3 from food, candy and medicine

The United States has banned the use of a synthetic dye that is typically added to foods and beverages to give them a bright, cherry-red hue.

Manufacturers will no longer be allowed to use the dye, called red no. 3, or red dye 3, after studies linked it to cancer in male laboratory rats, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on Wednesday.

While normal exposure to the dye is much lower in humans than in the rats in the studies, US law requires a ban if a link to cancer is found.

The dye is primarily used in candy, cakes, cookies, frozen desserts and frosting, as well as some pharmaceuticals, the agency said.

The ban is the result of a petition filed in 2022 by a number of groups, including the Center for Science in the Public Interest. They argued that the dye should be banned because of its links to cancer and its widespread use by American consumers, especially children.

Red No 3 was banned in cosmetics 35 years ago by the FDA. California also banned the additive in food in October 2023.

It is restricted in countries outside the US, such as Australia, New Zealand and the EU.

The FDA’s ban is “long overdue,” said the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a US-based non-profit consumer organization that has long pushed for the ban.

“For the longest time, the FDA is putting an end to the regulatory paradox that Red 3 is illegal for use in lipstick but perfectly legal to give to children in the form of candy,” said the group’s president, Dr. Peter Lurie, in a statement Wednesday. .

Food producers who use red no. 3, have until January 2027 to reformulate their products, while drug manufacturers have an extra year – until January 2028 – to adjust.

Food imported into the United States will also have to comply with the new ban, the FDA said.

Red no. 3, also known as erythrosine or red dye 3, has been used in a variety of sweets, baked goods, fruit products and beverages.

Colored candies — like Pez — include the additive as an ingredient. It has also been used in toasters, maraschino cherries, and some sodas and fruit-flavored beverages.

The additive was used in cough syrups and gummy vitamins to give them a bright red color.

Some manufacturers have already phased out the use of the dye in their products, such as Dole, which eliminated it from its fruit bowls by 2023.

Instead of red dye 3, some companies have started using red dye 40, which is considered a healthier alternative, although one study linked it to an increase in intestinal disease in mice.

Another study by the UK Food Standards Agency linked red dye 40 to increased hyperactivity in children. The additive was banned in California schools as of last year.