FDA bans red food dye due to potential cancer risk

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FDA looks to ban red food dye

Celebrity fitness trainer Jillian Michaels joins ‘Hannity’ to discuss the possibility of the FDA banning red food dye.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has officially banned red dye — called Red 3, or Erythrosine — from foods, dietary supplements and ingested medicines, as reported by the Associated Press on Wednesday.

Food manufacturers must remove the dye from their products by January 2027, while drug manufacturers will have until January 2028 to do so, AP stated. 

Any foods imported into the U.S. from other countries will also be subject to the new regulation.

RED FOOD DYE COULD SOON BE BANNED AS FDA REVIEWS PETITION

"The FDA is taking action that will remove the authorization for the use of FD&C Red No. 3 in food and ingested drugs," said Jim Jones, the FDA’s deputy commissioner for human foods, in a statement. 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has officially banned red dye — called Red 3, or Erythrosine — from foods, dietary supplements and ingested medicines (iStock)

"Evidence shows cancer in laboratory male rats exposed to high levels of FD&C Red No.3," he continued. "Importantly, the way that FD&C Red No. 3 causes cancer in male rats does not occur in humans."

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The synthetic dye, which is made from petroleum, is used as a color additive in food and ingested drugs to give them a "bright cherry-red color," according to an online statement from the FDA.

Food manufacturers must remove the dye from their products by January 2027, while drug manufacturers will have until January 2028 to do so. (iStock)

The petition to ban the dye cited the Delaney Clause, which states that the agency cannot classify a color additive as safe if it has been found to induce cancer in humans or animals.

The dye was removed from cosmetics nearly 35 years ago due to potential cancer risk.

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"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," said Dr. Peter Lurie, director of the group Center for Science in the Public Interest, which led the petition effort, as reported by AP.

Nearly 3,000 foods are shown to contain Red No. 3, according to Food Scores, a database of foods compiled by the Environmental Working Group. (iStock)

Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Health and Fox News senior medical analyst, applauded the FDA's ban.

"It was a long time coming," he told Fox News Digital. "It's been more than 30 years since it was banned from cosmetics in the U.S. due to evidence that it is carcinogenic in high doses in lab rats. There needs to be a consistency between what we put on our skin and what we put into our mouths."

"There needs to be a consistency between what we put on our skin and what we put into our mouths."

Siegel said he believes the FDA's decision could be tied to the incoming new head of the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

"They knew it would have happened anyway under RFK Jr.," he said. "It is already banned or severely restricted in Australia, Japan and the European Union."

The food additive also "drew kids in" to a diet of empty calories and ultraprocessed foods, one doctor stated. (iStock)

The food additive also "drew kids in" to a diet of empty calories and ultraprocessed foods, Siegel added.

"It has also been linked to behavioral issues in children, including ADHD."

Nearly 3,000 foods are shown to contain Red No. 3, according to Food Scores, a database of foods compiled by the Environmental Working Group.

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The National Confectioners Association provided the below statement to Fox News Digital.

"Food safety is the number one priority for U.S. confectionery companies, and we will continue to follow and comply with FDA’s guidance and safety standards."

The petition to remove Red No. 3 from foods, supplements and medications was presented in 2022 by the Center for Science in the Public Interest and 23 other organizations and scientists.