Health & Wellness

What is Red Dye No. 3 and which foods is it in? What to know after FDA ban

The latest ban comes nearly 35 years after the dye was barred from cosmetics because of potential cancer risk

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Stock photo of sweet shop pic and mix display of sugar coated red jelly sweet / gummy drops.

U.S. regulators on Wednesday banned the dye called Red 3 from the nation’s food supply, but what exactly is and which foods is it in?

The latest ban comes nearly 35 years after the dye was barred from cosmetics because of potential cancer risk.

Here's what to know:

What is Red No. 3?

According to the FDA, Red No. 3 is "a color additive made from petroleum that gives foods and drinks a bright cherry-red color."

The dye is known as erythrosine, FD&C Red No. 3 or Red 3.

More than three decades ago, the FDA declined to authorize use of Red 3 in cosmetics and externally applied drugs because a study showed it caused cancer when eaten by rats.

What did the FDA rule?

FDA officials granted a 2022 petition filed by two dozen food safety and health advocates, who urged the agency to revoke authorization for the substance that gives some candies, snack cakes and maraschino cherries a bright red hue.

The ban removes Red 3 from the list of approved color additives in foods, dietary supplements and oral medicines, such as cough syrups.

Other countries still allow for certain uses of the dye, but imported foods must meet the new U.S. requirement.

Why is it banned?

The agency said it was taking the action as a “matter of law” because some studies have found that the dye caused cancer in lab rats. Officials cited a statute known as the Delaney Clause, which requires FDA to ban any additive found to cause cancer in people or animals.

“The FDA is taking action that will remove the authorization for the use of FD&C Red No. 3 in food and ingested drugs," said Jim Jones, the FDA's deputy commissioner for human foods. “Evidence shows cancer in laboratory male rats exposed to high levels of FD&C Red No.3. Importantly, the way that FD&C Red No. 3 causes cancer in male rats does not occur in humans.”

When the FDA declined to allow Red 3 in cosmetics and topical drugs in 1990, the color additive was already permitted in foods and ingested drugs. Because research showed then that the way the dye causes cancer in rats does not apply to humans, "the FDA did not take action to revoke the authorization of Red No. 3 in food,” the agency has said on its website.

Health advocates for years have asked the FDA to reconsider that decision, including the 2022 petition led by CSPI. In November, nearly two dozen members of Congress sent a letter demanding that FDA officials ban Red 3.

Lawmakers cited the Delaney Clause and said the action was especially important to protect children, who consume more of the dye on a bodyweight basis than adults, the lawmakers said.

The International Association of Color Manufacturers defends the dye, saying that it is safe in levels typically consumed by humans. The group points to research by scientific committees operated by the United Nations and the World Health Organization, including a 2018 review that reaffirmed the safety of Red 3 in food.

When will the ban begin?

Food manufacturers will have until January 2027 to remove the dye from their products, while makers of ingested drugs have until January 2028 to do the same.

It's not clear whether the ban will face legal challenges from food manufacturers because evidence hasn’t determined that the dye causes cancer when consumed by humans. At a hearing in December, FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf suggested that's a risk.

Red 3 is banned for food use in Europe, Australia and New Zealand except in certain kinds of cherries. The dye will be banned in California starting in January 2027, and lawmakers in Tennessee, Arkansas and Indiana have filed proposals to limit certain dyes, particularly from foods offered in public schools.

Which foods have Red 3 in them?

According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, "a search of the US Department of Agriculture’s Branded Foods Database at FoodData Central identified 9,201 US food products that contain Red 3—including hundreds of products made by the country’s biggest food companies."

The dye is in a variety of things from soda to juice to candy to pastries to maraschino cherries and more. According to the FDA, it's found in certain candy, cakes and cupcakes, cookies, frozen desserts, and frostings and icings, and ingested drugs."

The Environmental Working Group has a searchable product list of items containing Red 3 here.

Ferrara Candy Company, which is based in Illinois, said it began phasing out Red No. 3 in early 2023, though about 10% of its products still include it.

"We are on track to eliminate the food coloring from remaining products by the end of 2026," the company said in a statement. "All of our products are safe to consume and are manufactured using only FDA-approved ingredients. Ferrara complies with all laws and regulations related to our products and will continue to do so in the future."

Mars Wrigley, based in Chicago, said none of its U.S. candies use the dye.

Some food manufacturers have already reformulated products to remove Red 3. In its place they use beet juice; carmine, a dye made from insects; and pigments from foods such as purple sweet potato, radish and red cabbage, according to Sensient Food Colors, a St. Louis-based supplier of food colors and flavorings.

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