- home
- article
- US Health Authorities Ban Red Food Dye Over Cancer Risk Concerns
US Health Authorities Ban Red Food Dye Over Cancer Risk Concerns
ai generated text
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has banned Red Dye No. 3, also known as Red 3, a synthetic food coloring used in nearly 3,000 products in the United States. This decision follows a petition filed by 24 food safety and health advocates in November 2022, citing studies that linked the dye to cancer in lab rats. The FDA has stated that this ban is a matter of law, indicating that the agency is acting in accordance with existing regulations rather than making a discretionary decision. The exact implications of this ban are still unclear, but it suggests a shift in regulatory policy towards prioritizing animal and human health over industry interests.
Evidence shows cancer in laboratory male rats exposed to high levels of FD&C Red No 3. Importantly, the way that FD&C Red No 3 causes cancer in male rats does not occur in humans.
The FDA is taking action that will remove the authorization for the use of FD&C Red No 3 in food and ingested drugs.
This is a welcome, but long overdue, action from the FDA: removing the unsustainable double standard in which Red 3 was banned from lipstick but permitted in candy.
They don't add any nutritional value, they don't preserve the food -- they're just there to make food look pretty.
There's growing discussion across the political spectrum about food additives and chemicals, which reflects ongoing failures by the FDA.
US Red Dye Ban
sources
perspectives
countries
organizations
- 1.Center for Science in the Public Interest
- 2.Environmental Working Group
- 3.European Union
- 4.Federal Register
- 5.International Agency for Research on Cancer
- 6.Sensient Food Colors
- 7.United Nations
- 8.US Department of Health and Human Services
- 9.US Food and Drug Administration
- 10.World Health Organization