US bans use of red dye No.3 in food, drug over possible cancer links Reuters
Written by Mariam Sunny
(Reuters) – The United States on Wednesday banned the use of an artificial food dye that gives sweets, cakes and certain medicines a cherry red color, following evidence that the dye caused cancer in laboratory rats.
Ban by the Food and Drug Administration on Red No. 3 dyes in food products occurred more than three decades after the ban on cosmetics.
“Why would you say something that can’t be cosmetic, but you can eat doesn’t make sense to me. I’m so glad they finally did what I think they should have done years ago,” said petitioner Linda Birnbaum, a former director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the National Toxicology Program.
Consumer advocacy groups have been calling for its ban for several years, including a request in 2022 to review studies showing high exposure to the additive can cause cancer in male rats.
“The FDA cannot approve a food additive or colorant if it has been found to cause cancer in humans or animals,” said Jim Jones, Deputy Commissioner of Human Foods.
However, the regulator said studies in other animals and humans have not shown these effects and that the available evidence does not support claims that the use of dyes in food and oral drugs puts people at risk.
Producers using Red No. 3 in food they have time until Jan. 15, 2027, to reformulate their products and manufacturers of absorbed drugs have until Jan. 18, 2028, to comply with the ban.
Lawmakers slammed FDA Commissioner Robert Califf at a recent Senate Committee hearing on the use of food dyes.
“Food safety is a top priority for US candy companies, and we will continue to follow and comply with FDA safety guidelines,” said the trade group National Confectioners Association.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s pick to head the nation’s top health agency, is constantly talking about reducing chemicals in food.
