FDA bans red dye 3 from food after linking it to cancer in rats

The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday banned the use of red dye No. 3 in foods, beverages and medicines, more than 30 years after it was first discovered to cause cancer in male laboratory rats. was prohibited.

This dye, a petroleum-based additive, is used to give candy, soda, and other products a bright cherry-red hue. Consumer advocacy groups said the FDA's decision to revoke the license was long overdue, given the agency's decision in 1990 to ban the chemical from use in cosmetics and topical drugs. .

Under federal regulations, the FDA is prohibited from approving food additives that cause cancer in humans or animals.

“This is great news and long overdue,” said Melanie Benesch, vice president of government affairs at the Environmental Working Group. The Environmental Working Group is one of several organizations that petitioned government agencies to take action against this additive. “Red Dye 3 is the lowest-hanging fruit of toxic food coloring that the FDA must address.”

Starting in 2027, companies will have to start removing dyes from their products. Imported foods must also have additives removed before they can be sold in the United States.

The dye is still used in hundreds of products, but many companies are switching to other food colorants, and by 2023 California will be adding three other foods linked to the disease. The move accelerated after it became the first state to ban Red 3 along with additives. This dye has also been linked to health problems in children.

In announcing the ban, authorities downplayed the risk to humans and said researchers had not found a similar cancer risk in studies on animals other than male rats. Jim Jones, the FDA's deputy commissioner for food, said in a statement that claims that red dye No. 3 “puts people at risk when used in food or ingested drugs” are not supported by available scientific information. Ta.

Sara Gallo, senior vice president for product policy and federal affairs at the Consumer Brands Association, an industry group, said food and beverage companies will follow the agency's decision. “The revocation of the authorized use of Red No. 3 is an example of FDA using its risk- and science-based authority to review the safety of products on the market,” she said.

Red Dye No. 3 was first approved for use in food in 1907, but was banned for use in cosmetics by U.S. regulators in 1990. At the time, the FDA cited a study conducted by industry that found the chemical caused thyroid cancer in male rats, but it can cause cancer in fewer than 1 in 100,000 people. I presumed that there was. The agency banned the use of dyes in cosmetics and promised to take similar measures for food.

Artificial colors and food additives are a major target for President-elect Donald J. Trump's nominee for Secretary of Health, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose Senate confirmation hearing is expected to begin soon. .