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FDA Bans Red Dye: Cancer Link Found in Common Foods & Drugs!

The FDA has banned the use of Red dye number 3, a harmful dye found to be associated with cancer risks. The decision would affect common foods such as candy, desserts and drugs containing the dye.

United States: The US FDA with reference to its rules for color additives, has banned the use of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) Red No. 3 from the list of approved colors that used to be added to food and ingested drugs.

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In foods, FD&C Red No. 3 is mainly used in candy, cakes and cupcakes, cookies, frozen desserts, and frostings and icings, and in certain ingested drugs to impart the cherry red color.

The agency is acting on a color additive petition from 2022, which contains a study that revealed that FD&C Red No. 3 led to the development of cancers in male rats that were exposed to high levels of the color additive, US News reported.

U.S. regulators on Wednesday banned red dye no. 3 from the nation’s food supply, nearly 35 years after it was barred from cosmetics because of potential cancer risk.

ABC News Medical Contributor @AlokPatelMD has more on the ingredient that's commonly used in candy, gummies and… pic.twitter.com/mdSPZ8Z2JG
— ABC News Live (@ABCNewsLive) January 16, 2025

However, the FDA says that there is no information that FD&C Red No. 3 has the same negative effect on people, and the average person is normally less likely to be exposed to this additive.

What more are the experts stating?

The International Association of Color Manufacturers has come to the defense of the red dye, arguing that scientific committees in the United Nations and the World Health Organisation have found that FD&C Red No. 3 is safe in quantities commonly ingested by people.

The FDA has banned the use of Red Dye No. 3 in foods and drinks, a move that has been encouraged by advocates for years citing evidence it may cause cancer. Still, some say the ban doesn’t go far enough. More: https://t.co/KRjs10u9mg pic.twitter.com/V8nE0WrgSk
— NewsNation (@NewsNation) January 16, 2025

Companies that currently incorporate FD&C Red No. 3 in foods will have 1350 days from the date of publication of this final rule to make necessary changes needed to remove it from their products, while drug companies will have days up to January 18, 2028, as US News reported.

All the products imported into the United States of America will also have to meet the provisions of the new revised color additive regulations.