FDA Bans Use of Red Dye Number 3 in US Food and Beverage

The US Food and Drug Administration he announced On Wednesday, it successfully stops Red No. 3, a controversial red dye found in foods and drinks that has been linked to cancer. The FDA is changing its color additive regulations following a 2022 petition from the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a nonprofit advocacy group focused on food and public health. The petition prompted the FDA to review two studies that showed exposure to Red No. 3 caused cancer in male laboratory rats.

The color also affects children’s behavior, including excessive behavior. The The FDA concluded that “further neurobehavioral research is needed to elucidate the mechanisms underlying these effects.” Administrators advise concerned parents to check the list of ingredients on the label and talk to their family doctor.

Red no. 3, made from petroleum, was first approved for food by the FDA in 1907. It is widely used in candy, corn, cakes, ice cream, carbonated drinks and many other products in the US, where it gives foods a strong flavor. – red color. But it is banned in many other places, including the European Union and Japan. The FDA itself banned Red No. 3 not to be used in cosmetics in 1990.

The decision follows years of pressure from advocacy groups and lawmakers to remove the ingredient from US food.

In a press release Wednesday, the Center for Science in the Public Interest welcomed the change.

“Finally, the FDA is eliminating Red 3’s adulterants from being banned for use on lips, but legal to feed to children as candy,” said CSPI President Peter Lurie. “The main purpose of food coloring is to make sweets, drinks, and other baked goods. If the work is beautiful, why accept any risk of cancer?”

Lurie urged parents not only to avoid No. Red 3 and all black colors, such as Yellow 5 and Red 40.

“If the next agency wants to protect children’s health, it should require companies to warn parents about the dangers of any dye for their children – on the package label,” said Lurie.

Producers who use Red No. 3 in foods and drugs that are absorbed must renew their products by January 15, 2027, according to new FDA guidelines. Imported foods that contain dyes must also comply with US regulations.