The FDA banned the dye Red No. 3, common in candy and drinks, after its link to cancer in animals

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on Wednesday the ban on the use of synthetic dye Red No. 3widely used in food and beverage products, due to its link with the development of cancer in animals.

This additive, known for imparting a bright cherry red hue, is currently found in thousands of products, including candies, cereals, cherries in fruit cocktails and strawberry-flavored smoothies, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI)an organization that asked the FDA in 2022 to eliminate its use, according to NBC News.

The decision represents a triumph for defense groups consumer and US legislators who, for years, have pressured the FDA to revoke approval of this dye. They cited evidence pointing to its carcinogenic risks, as well as possible negative effects on children’s behavior.

In an official statement cited by ABC News, Jim Jonesdeputy director of human foods at the FDA, said: “The FDA is taking actions that will eliminate the authorization for the use of FD&C Network No. 3 in foods and medications ingested.”

According to the deputy director, the evidence shows cancer in male laboratory rats that were exposed to high levels of this dye.

“It is important to highlight that the way in which FD & Red No. 3 causes cancer in male rats does not occur in humans,” Jones stressed.

According to what the FDA stated in a statement, food manufacturers have up to the January 15, 2027 to reformulate their products without the use of Red No. 3. Companies that produce ingested medications, such as dietary supplements, will have an additional period of one year to comply with the regulations.

Peter Luriepresident of CSPIstated that the main objective of the food coloring is to make candy and other processed foods “be more attractive”which raises the question: “If the function is purely aesthetic, why accept any risk of cancer,” in his words.

Starting in 2022, this organization asked the FDA to ban the coloring in foods, dietary supplements and medications, with as its main arguments “long-standing” evidence that red No. 3 “causes thyroid cancer when consumed by animals.”

“We are not surprised that the FDA has stated that the risk is smallsince it is a chemical that they did not ban for years, and they want to assure the public that the agency has not been putting them at risk for decades“, stated the president of the CSPI.

As FDA officials explained, Red No.3 “it is not used as much in foods and medicines compared to other certified dyes”However, they highlight its use mainly in products such as candy, cakesmuffins, cookies, frozen desserts, frostings, toppings and certain ingested drugs.

CSPI experts detail on their official website that the dye is present in “thousands of foods” such as vegetarian bacon strips from MorningStar Farmsyellow rice with saffron Vigo, Ensure strawberry flavored, some versions of Peepsfruit cocktail cherries “and many varieties of candy corn.”

Thanks to a search carried out in the database of branded foods of the United States Department of Agriculture in FoodData Centralthe organization detected that 9,201 food products marketed in the US contain Red No. 3, “including hundreds of items manufactured by the most important food companies in the country.”