14 hours Ago By [email protected] (Bobby Lewis)
Food coloring is a major part of many modern meals. Although artificial coloring agents appear in processed foods all over the world, specific individual dyes come and go as regulators inspect their safety profiles. On January 15, 2025, the U.
S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) revoked its authorization for FD&C Red No. 3 (or simply Red 3), which is currently used as an additive in food and ingestible drugs across the country.
Under the FDA's order, FD&C Red No. 3 will be phased out of the U.S.
food supply by 2027, but that does not mean that bright red processed foods will suddenly disappear from store shelves. One alternative to Red 3 is Red No. 40, a dye with an already significant market share and likely to replace many applications of the aforementioned coloring agent.
While both of these artificial dyes are commonly used in processed foods, only Red No. 3 has been strongly linked to cancer development in lab rats. Although the FDA has stated that the risk to humans is minimal, some states have already taken precautions to phase out the controversial dye, and now the entire United States is following suit.
What is red dye No. 3? First approved by the FDA for food use in 1907, red dye No. 3 quickly became a common choice for various foods.
In fact, many popular foods contain Red 3 , including sweets, like candy and popsicles, and sometimes processed meat products, such as hot dogs and plant-based vegan meats . Although it had been in widespread use for over a century, Red 3 (also known as erythrosine in some markets) has been the target of health professionals and consumer advocacy groups for decades. Some have claimed a connection between Red 3 and other dyes with certain childhood behavioral issues, something that the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) confirmed in a 2021 study .
Although studies have noted a link between Red 3 exposure and thyroid cancer in lab rats since the 1980s, it took decades for the FDA to act. Despite the fact that human consumption of Red 3 does not reach the same cancerous threshold as for rats in lab settings, the European Union banned most uses by the mid-90s. Around that same time, the dye was also banned for use in cosmetics within the U.
S. Since then, Red 3 has been on the decline. What is red dye 40? A relatively newer dye, Red No.
40 was registered with the FDA in 1971 by the Allied Chemical Corporation. Also known by the trademarked name "Allura Red AC," this deep, lustrous red coloring is commonly found in condiments, sports drinks like Powerade and Gatorade , and other brands that have left Red 3 behind. Especially prevalent in products marketed toward children, Red No.
40 is the most common type of red food coloring and one of the most widespread food dyes in the world. Unlike Red 3, this red dye has not been linked to thyroid cancer in lab rats. However, one study by the Center for Science in the Public Interest suggested that there may be a correlation between Red No.
40 and rapid tumor growth in mice. Additionally, this dye contains benzene, a compound commonly found in a wide range of products despite being connected to cases of leukemia and other cancers. In rare cases, some individuals may be allergic to Allura Red.
For now, Red No. 40 has broad regulatory approval for food use, although some jurisdictions have begun to restrict it. In 2024, California banned Red No.
40 and four other artificial dyes from all food and beverages sold in California public schools, citing an official OEHHA study that alleged a connection between the dye and behavioral issues in children..
