Widely used in seasonal candies and other foods
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has bannedthe food dye Red 3 from use in foods, beverages, oral drugs, and dietary supplements, addressing a decades-long controversy.
Red 3 has been banned from use in topical drugs and cosmetics since 1990, when the FDA itself determined that the dye causes cancer when eaten by animals. But it continued to be allowedin foods, supplements, and oral drugs until today, more than 34 years later.
The ban is in response to a color additive petition filed by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) in 2022. The organization called today's action "a win for public health" and said it was long overdue.
Where would you find it?
Products containing this carcinogenic additive will still be on shelves. until Jan. 16, 2027, when the ban takes effect. This is where you might find Red 3, according to a list compiled by CSPI:
Seasonal candies.Many candies, particularly those available duringHalloweenandValentine's Day, often contain Red 3. Common products include conversation hearts, cherry cordials, candy corn, PEZ, original Dubble Bubble gum, and some flavors of Ringpop.
Maraschino cherries.The cherry industry is the largest purveyor of Red 3-dyed products in the US and in Europe. Though some brands have switched to Red 40, check product ingredient lists, where Red 3 is required to be listed by name, to avoid Red 3.
Fruit cocktails.Common brands of canned or packaged fruit medleys. This once included Dole but the company says it removed Red 3 from its fruit bowls in March 2023.
"The dye was replaced with carmine. The updated products are on store shelves throughout the U.S., featuring refreshed packaging with the updated ingredient lists," a Dole spokesperson told ConsumerAffairs.
Red 3 and cancer
Animal studies completed in the 1980s revealed that Red 3 causes thyroid cancer in rats. When studies reveal that an additive causes cancer in humans or animals, theDelaney Clausea provision of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Actobligates the FDA to deem it unsafe and prohibit it from use in food, drugs, and cosmetics.
FDA relied on the Delaney Clause to ban Red 3 from topical products in the US in 1990, and it did so again today inbanning the dyefrom food products.
Why did it take so long?
It cannot be coincidence that all of a sudden, days before the FDA gets new oversight, it manages to ban a substance that doctors, nutritionists and parents have been asking be banned for years," saidLos Angeles environmental attorney Vineet Dubey
FDA ignored CSPI's petition foryears but in 2024,California introduced, passed, and signed into law theCalifornia Food Safety Act, banning Red 3 and three other unsafe additives statewide, and other states subsequentlyintroduced similar legislationleaving the federal government to play catch-up.
All Americans deserve foods free from harmful food additives, said CSPIs Principal Scientist for Additives and Supplements Thomas Galligan. Removing Red 3 and other unsafe, unnecessary food chemicals from our food supply is a critical step for protecting consumers. We hope to see FDA and Congress act soon to reform the broken federal regulatory systems that have allowed unsafe chemicals to enter and stay in our food supply for so long.
CSPI noted that President-elect Trumps nominee for secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, RFK, Jr., made color additives a national issue during this year's elections and as he takes aim at the food system. The Trump Administration could take steps to protect consumers from each of these chemicals and support the FDAs broader post-market assessment efforts.
Attorney Dubey noted that, as is often the case, California legislators had already banned Red Dye No. 3 and that ban was set to go into effect in 2027.
"But California also banned a number of other unnecessary, hazardous additives which might now get serious consideration from the federal food regulators. These include chemicals like titanium dioxide, another food coloring linked to its ability to damage DNA; and other additives linked to hormone disruption, cancers and impact on the human nervous system."
Photo Credit: Consumer Affairs News Department Images
Posted: 2025-01-15 20:25:10
