Warnings Issued After FDA Bans Red 3. What Foods Contain It?

CanvaPro/pixelshot/memorapang from Getty Images/Cute food packaging from Lazy & Busy Lab

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given food manufacturers until 2027 to phase out the use of Red Dye No. 3 — erythrosine — in foods, drinks, oral medicines and dietary supplements as research has consistently shown it can cause cancer in animals.

We’ll finally be rid of Red 3 in our food supply by early 2027, while some drugs will still contain it through January 2028. “We’re thrilled that the FDA has finally taken action to remove this unneeded color additive for the market and in so doing has followed the clear dictates of the law,” Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) president Dr. Peter Lurie told Today. “In the absence of lobbying by the industry, I think we would all expect this product to have been banned decades ago.”

Lurie says that a “variety of technical reasons” make it difficult to study whether the substance causes cancer in humans, but it is highly linked to cancer in laboratory rats. Red 3 was banned in cosmetics and topical drugs in 1990 due to the same findings, so it is unclear why its been allowed in our food for more than 30 years since. (POPULAR STORY: Trump’s ‘Cabinet Of The Canceled’ Championed In Op-Ed)

What Foods Include Red 3?

There are an estimated 9,201 American food products that contain Red 3, including many made by the biggest food manufacturers, according to Today. Here is the list provided to the outlet by CSPI, Lurie, the FDA, and Houston Methodist hospital dietitian:

• Candy, especially seasonal candies, such as candy corn and dyed marshmallows
• Cakes and cupcakes
• Frozen desserts, such as ice pops and ice creams with strawberry flavoring
• Frostings
• Maraschino cherries
• Fruit cocktails
• Colored beverages
• Protein shakes
• Vegetarian meats
• Bacon bits
• Sausages
• Strawberry milk
• Puddings

Please not that not every single food product that falls into this list contains Red 3. It just means that there are products within these categories that contain it. You can check the USDA website for a more comprehensive search. (POPULAR NEWS: Joe Rogan Releases Most Heard Gospel Broadcast In History, Maybe)

There are also medications that contain Red 3., including:

• Acetaminophen, a pain reliever
• Fluoxetine, an antidepressant
• Gabapentin, an anticonvulsant
• Andomeprazole, which treats heartburn

Almost everybody consumes Red 3 at some point. “They don’t really know it, and they don’t know in what quantities they’re consuming it,” Lurie added.

California outlawed the chemical in food in 2023 and 10 other states introduced legislation to restrict its use in recent years, suggesting the reason this ban has occurred is as a result of local and state-level politicking.

Oh, and there are currently 36 FDA approved additives for use in the U.S., nine of which are synthetic dyes.

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