Red Dye # 3 can have deleterious health effects. The cherries are from a canned fruit cocktail sold on the Dollar TreeIsland Selection Diced Fruit Cocktail (cherries have red #3).
Linnea Bullion | The Washington Post | Getty Images
The Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday it’s banning the usage of Red No. 3, an artificial dye that provides food and drinks their shiny red cherry color but has been linked to cancer in animals.
The dye continues to be utilized in hundreds of foods, including candy, cereals, cherries in fruit cocktails and strawberry-flavored milkshakes, in accordance with the Center for Science within the Public Interest, a food safety advocacy group that petitioned the agency in 2022 to finish its use.
The FDA’s decision marks a victory for consumer advocacy groups and a few U.S. lawmakers who’ve long urged the FDA to revoke the additive’s approval, citing ample evidence that its use in beverages, dietary supplements, cereals and candies may cause cancer in addition to affect kid’s behavior.Â
Food manufacturers may have until Jan. 15, 2027 to reformulate their products. Firms that make ingested drugs, akin to dietary supplements, will get a further yr.
“The FDA cannot authorize a food additive or color additive if it has been found to cause cancer in human or animals,” Jim Jones, the FDA’s deputy director for human foods, said in an announcement. “Evidence shows cancer in laboratory male rats exposed to high levels of FD&C Red No. 3.”
What’s red dye No. 3?Â
Red Dye No. 3, approved to be used in foods in 1907, is comprised of petroleum.Â
The FDA first became aware that the additive was possibly carcinogenic following a study within the Eighties that found tumors in male rats who were exposed to it in high doses. The agency banned the additive in cosmetics in 1990.
“It removes an unnecessary hazard from the American food supply, and we welcome that motion, regardless that it must have occurred greater than three a long time ago, said Dr. Peter Lurie, president of the Center for Science within the Public Interest, a high-profile food industry watchdog group.Â
Red No. 3 is already banned or severely restricted in places outside the U.S., including Australia, Japan and countries within the European Union.
Some U.S. food manufacturers have already removed artificial dyes, including Red No. 3, from their products.Â
All color additives have to be approved by the FDA before they’re utilized in food sold within the U.S. There are 36 FDA-approved color additives, nine of that are synthetic dyes.Â
The FDA has said it has been actively reviewing Red No. 3’s approval following a petition filed by a coalition of organizations, including the CSPI, asking the FDA to revoke the additive’s approval in foods, noting its potential cancer risks.Â
There are also concerns about whether artificial food dyes might affect kid’s behavior. The FDA in 2011 reviewed the possible link between artificial dyes and hyperactivity in children. It determined, nevertheless, that no causal relationship may very well be established.Â
Although the FDA is now revoking its approval, ending its use nationwide, other states had already taken motion.
California in addition to 10 other states have already made moves to ban the food dye, in accordance with CSPI.
