The United States has banned the use of Red Dye No. 3, a controversial food and drug coloring linked to cancer in animals, ending decades of delay despite mounting scientific evidence. Known as FD&C Red No. 3, the additive is currently used in nearly 3,000 food products, including candies, snacks, fruit items, and medicines, to provide vibrant red hues. Under its color additive regulations, the FDA is revoking its authorization of Red Dye No.
3 for use in food and ingested drugs. The decision follows a petition filed in 2022 by advocacy groups like the Center for Science in the Public Interest to prohibit color additives linked to cancer in humans or animals. Although the FDA banned the use of Red 3 in cosmetics in 1990 due to its connection to thyroid cancer in male rats, it has remained in food products due to food industry resistance. While the FDA maintained that evidence of an…
