FDA finally bans Red No. 3 food dye, linked to cancer

After years of study, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on Jan. 15 that it’s banning Red Dye No. 3 in food and ingested drugs. Red No. 3 is made from petroleum.

This decision comes in response to a 2022 petition to revoke the color additive listing for Red Dye No. 3 that PIRG supported and gathered signatures for, and as public concern about food additives has grown, as shown by the Make America Healthy Again movement.

We applaud the FDA’s decision and look forward to safer products, free of this cancer-causing additive. 

Red Dye No. 3 is one of many additives that have been used primarily to brighten the appearance of certain colors in snack foods such as candy, frozen desserts and frostings, and have been linked to serious behavioral problems, hyperactivity and attention deficit disorders in children. Some have also been known to trigger allergic reactions such as eczema and hives. No one should need to worry about picking up a product at the grocery store containing a dye that adds no nutrition and can actually harm you. 

Per the FDA’s announcement, manufacturers have until Jan. 15, 2027 to remove Red No. 3 from foods. For ingested drugs, manufacturers have until Jan. 18, 2028 to stop using the additive. In the two years remaining until the dye is no longer permitted for use, we encourage consumers to remain vigilant and avoid products containing Red Dye No. 3. 

One tool to help consumers understand what they’re buying is the free Yuka app. Other useful apps include FoodIQ and the subscription-based Fig app.  

By scanning an item’s barcode, the Yuka app provides a health and safety score, backed by conventional indicators including sugar, calorie and sodium content as well as a list of additives, ranked from most hazardous to least harmful. The profile also explains the harmful health effects of each additive. 

However, this is not to say the app is perfect. Its calorie intake recommendations do not fit every person’s individual calorie needs, nor does the app screen for every harmful ingredient such as inflammatory seed oils. Nonetheless, tools like the Yuka app can help bring much needed transparency to Americans’ trip to the grocery store. You can use the Yuka app to find alternatives containing the numerous naturally-sourced food colorings used abroad and keep avoiding Red Dye No. 3 until it’s out of the food supply.

The FDA’s action is under a clause in the 1960 Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act that prohibits food additives found to cause cancer in humans or animals. Such revocation has occurred before. In 2018, the FDA revoked authorization for seven synthetic flavoring additives, including synthetically-derived benzophenone.The 2018 action also banned benzophenone to make rubber articles that repeatedly come into contact with food.