FDA Bans Artificial Red Dye: What This Means for Consumers

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) It announced that the U.S. food supply would no longer contain Red No. 3, which was primarily used in a wide range of food products, such as candy, cakes, cupcakes, cookies, frozen desserts, frosting, and frosting, as well as some ingested foods. Drugs.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday it has issued an order revoking the license for use of Red No. 3 — also known as erythrosine, which gives some foods and beverages a bright cherry red color — in ingested foods and medications. The agency’s decision to do so came after it reviewed a submitted petition that said, under a rule called the Delaney Proviso, the FDA must ban this coloring additive in foods and drugs at the federal level because it has been shown to cause cancer in animals.

Going forward, any manufacturer using the dye in food and ingested drugs will have until January 15, 2027, or January 18, 2028, respectively, to reformulate its products. This means that consumers can still see it as an ingredient in a food or drug product on the market after the above dates if the product was manufactured before the effective date, according to the FDA.

Red food dye could soon be banned as FDA reviews petition: ‘Scary things’

Synthetic dye is already banned in the European Union. For more than three decades, it has also been banned in cosmetics and topical medications due to data proving its association With animal carcinogenicity.

According to Consumer Reports, the additive has been linked to cancer and thyroid tumors in laboratory animals, and has also been linked to hyperactivity and other neurobehavioral effects in children.

Below are the affected products:

According to the Eat Well Guide Food Scores database, nearly 3,000 food products on the U.S. market contain red dye 3, including candy, some brands of mashed potatoes, yellow rice, and some medications. The menu also includes a range of other foods, including breakfast cereals, drinks and baked goods.

Certain snacks and drinks may be banned in some states due to their carcinogenic ingredients

Some companies They have already removed the ingredient from their products. For example, red pigment 3 was listed as an ingredient in PediaSure Grow & Gain and a strawberry shake earlier this year. Today, the product page specifically states “no red dye.”

Abbott, which owns the PediaSure brand, told FOX Business it had “previously committed to removing Red 3 from all PediaSure products in 2024.”

Foods that contain dye among their ingredients:

PEZ candy with assorted fruits (cherry, strawberry, grape, raspberry, orange, lemon)

PEZ cotton candy, candy corn and banana

Original Double Bubble Twist Bubble gum

Halloween Candy – AMOS Lollipop Finger Rings

Jelly Belly Gourmet Candy Corn

MorningStar Farms Original Vegetarian Bacon Strips

Figo rice with yellow saffron

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Entenman Little Bites Party Cake Mini Muffin

Betty Crocker Loaded Mashed Potatoes

Fruit by foot starburst

A cup of chopped fruit

FOX Business has reached out to Tootsie Roll Industries, which owns the Double Bubble brand, and Ferrara Candy Company, which owns the Jelly Belly brand, for comment.

FOX Business has contacted Dole and Kellanova, which owns MorningStar Farms Veggie Breakfast Original Veggie Bacon Strips, for comment.

Calls to General Mills, which owns Betty Crocker, were not made.