US bans red dye No. 3 in food, candy and medicine

The United States has banned the use of a synthetic coloring typically added to foods and drinks 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 U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced Wednesday. -United.

Although normal exposure to the dye is much lower in humans than in the rats studied, U.S. law requires a ban if a link to cancer is found.

The coloring is primarily used in candies, cakes, cookies, frozen desserts and icings as well as some medicines, the agency said.

The ban follows 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, particularly children.

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

Its use is limited in countries outside the United States, such as Australia, New Zealand, and the European Union.

The FDA’s ban is “long overdue,” said the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a U.S.-based nonprofit consumer advocacy group that has long advocated for the ban.

“The FDA is finally ending the regulatory paradox that Red 3 is illegal for use in lipstick, but perfectly legal to give to children in candy form,” the group’s president, Dr. Peter, said Wednesday. Lurie. .

Food manufacturers using Red No. 3 will have until January 2027 to reformulate their products, while drugmakers will have an additional year – until January 2028 – to adapt.

Foods 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 dye red 3, has been used in a number of candies, baked goods, fruit products, and beverages.

Colored candies – like Pez – include the additive as an ingredient. It has also been used in toasted pastries, maraschino cherries, and some sodas and fruit-flavored drinks.

This 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 this coloring in their products, such as Dole, which eliminated it from its fruit cups in 2023.

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

Another study from the United Kingdom’s Food Standards Agency linked red coloring 40 to increased hyperactivity in children. The additive has been banned in California schools since last year.