Today, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it was officially banning the use of Red No. 3, a synthetic dye added to foods that has been found to cause cancer in rats. Used to give things like candy and cookies their bright red color, the dye was approved by the FDA more than 50 years ago. As of late, health advocacy groups have been pushing for the ingredient to be outlawed after scientific studies suggested its toxicity. That day has now come.
However, manufacturers of food and ingested drugs won’t have to end using Red Dye until Jan. 15, 2027, or Jan. 18, 2028, respectively, according to the FDA. But if you want to stop consuming the dye sooner rather than later, we’ve put together a list of some common foods that contain Red No. 3.
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What is Red Dye No. 3?
According to the FDA, “FD&C Red No. 3, also referred to as Red Dye No. 3, Red Dye 3, and erythrosine, is a synthetic food dye that gives certain foods and drinks a bright, cherry-red color, and is found in certain candy, cakes and cupcakes, cookies, frozen desserts, and frostings and icings, and ingested drugs.” (Think of red cough syrup for the latter category.)
“Like other color additives, its uses must be approved by the FDA, and it is used in small amounts,” they continue. “The FDA requires manufacturers to list FD&C Red No. 3 in the statement of ingredients when added to food.”
Cleveland Clinic adds that it’s made from petroleum, and they explain that it may be listed on ingredient labels in the following ways:
- Red 40
- Red 40 Lake
- FD&C Red No. 40
- FD&C Red No. 40 Aluminum Lake
Why is Red Dye No. 3 dangerous?
The ban enacted today was spurred by a 2022 petition from the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest, which asked the FDA to “formally remove the dye from the list of approved color additives in foods,” as The Washington Post explains.
The petition cited scientific studies linking the dye to adenomas and carcinomas of the thyroid gland in lab rats. “When a substance is shown to cause cancer in animals, it is presumed to cause cancer in humans,” the petition notes.
To that point, the FDA is charged with enforcing the Delaney Clause, which states that “no cancer-causing agent, as demonstrated in humans or animals, shall be deliberately added to, or found as a contaminant in food,” as detailed by a paper published in the journal Experimental and Toxicologic Pathology.
Other studies have linked Red 40 to early-onset colorectal cancer in mice and neurobehavioral effects in children, including ADHD and hyperactivity.
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California and much of Europe already banned Red Dye.
On Oct. 7, 2023, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed the California Food Safety Act, the first law of its kind in the U.S. It banned four common ingredients:
- Brominated vegetable oil (BVO)
- Potassium bromate (usually found in the flour of packaged baked goods)
- Propyl paraben (used in food preservatives)
- Red Dye No. 3
This law also isn’t set to take effect until Jan. 2027.
Red No. 3 is mostly banned in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.
And it was outlawed 35 years ago in cosmetics.
For many advocates, it’s shocking that the FDA took this long to ban Red No. 3 in foods and drugs since it was banned 35 years ago in cosmetics after it was, again, linked to cancer in rats.
In their announcement today, the FDA still asserts that Red No. 3 is safe for humans and that it was removed “as a matter of law,” referring to the Delaney Clause.
“We’re not surprised FDA has asserted that the risk is small, since it’s a chemical they failed to ban for years,” Peter Lurie, president of the Center for Science in the Public Interest and a former FDA official, said in a statement obtained by The Washington Post. “But the truth is Congress made plain decades ago that this was exactly the type of chemical — one that causes cancer in animals — it was trying to keep out of the US food supply.”
“This is a welcome, but long overdue, action from the FDA: removing the unsustainable double standard in which Red 3 was banned from lipstick but permitted in candy,” Lurie added, per the Associated Press (AP).
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Common foods that contain Red No. 3:
To come up with this list of foods that contain Red No. 3, Best Life referenced the Center for Science in the Public Interest’s 2022 petition and a list created by the Environmental Working Group (EWG).
- Better Crocker Fruit by the Foot
- Betty Crocker Loaded Mashed Potatoes
- Dubble Bubble chewing gum
- Entenmann’s Little Bites
- Favorite Day ice cream and cookie kits (Target in-house brand)
- Great Value Bacon Bits (Walmart in-house brand)
- Great Value cookie decorating kits (Walmart in-house brand)
- Hostess Ding Dongs
- Jack Link’s meat sticks
- Jordan Almonds
- Keebler Sugar Wafers
- Kellogg’s Llama Loops cereal
- Kroger Ice Cream
- Market Pantry juices (Target in-house brand)
- Nerds
- Nice! candies (Walgreens in-house brand)
- PediaSure Grow & Gain Kids’ Ready-to-Drink strawberry shake
- Pez
- Publix Fruit Cocktail in Fruit Juice
- Ring Pop
- Skittles
- SweeTarts
- Trolli gummies
- Vigo Saffron Yellow Rice
This is by no means an exhaustive list, as nearly 10,000 foods are thought to contain the ingredient. Some of the items listed above only contain Red No. 3 in certain flavors or colors.
According to CNN, some companies, such as Just Born, which makes PEEPS, have already stopped using Red No. 3. Ferrara, which makes Brach’s candies, began phasing it out in early 2023.
If you have concerns about the ingredient, speak to your healthcare provider.