Friends, the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) is cracking down on a popular candy and snack additive. according to by the Associated PressThe agency has moved to ban the red number 3 from the nation's food supply. Other names for red dye include erythrosine, FD&C Red No. They are 3 or Red 3.

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Details about The Ban On Red Dye #3

The FDA made this move to respect what it called the dangers of the red tint to the 2022 request. More than two dozen food safety and health advocates signed the petition.

However, concerns about the red dye date back decades. Specifically, it has been 35 years since number 3 was last authorized in cosmetics. Studies have shown the development of cancer in laboratory rats exposed to the dye. However, Jim Jones, the agency's deputy human food commissioner, said FD&C Red No. 3 does not cause cancer in humans and rats in the same way.

However, the FDA is enforcing the Delaney Clause, which requires the banning of substances that can cause cancer in living organisms. This new ban means that the red dye cannot be used in food, dietary supplements and oral medicines such as cough syrups.

What Happens Next?

Although the FDA recently announced a ban on the red dye, food manufacturers are being given more time to course-correct. Manufacturers will have until January 2027 to remove the dyes, while medicines will have until January 2028. California banned the substance from January 2027. Imported goods will also be subject to the new US requirement. European countries and Australia have already banned Red 3.

It is unclear whether food manufacturers will oppose the ban, especially without evidence of cancer effects in humans. However, some manufacturers have already started swapping out Red 3 for food-based pigments such as beet juice, purple sweet potato, radish and red cabbage. Carmine, a dye made from insects, has also been used.

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