{"id":5078,"date":"2025-01-15T15:42:02","date_gmt":"2025-01-15T21:42:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/valleywatch.net\/?p=5078"},"modified":"2025-01-15T15:48:24","modified_gmt":"2025-01-15T21:48:24","slug":"fda-bans-controversial-red-dye-found-in-candy-drinks-and-snacks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/valleywatch.net\/?p=5078","title":{"rendered":"FDA bans controversial red dye found in candy, drinks and snacks"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

January<\/strong> 15, 2025 – by Rachel Roubein in the Washington Post <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Studies show high doses could cause cancer in rats, but the regulators maintain that no evidence exists that ingesting the coloring causes cancer in humans.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Federal officials moved Wednesday to ban a controversial bright red dye used in drinks and snacks that has been linked to cancer in animals, a decision arriving decades after the coloring was removed from cosmetics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Food and Drug Administration\u2019s action affects red dye No. 3, which was approved for permanent use in food and ingested drugs more than 50 years ago. The decision comes more than two years after advocates pressured the agency to ban the dye, which is used in bubblegum, candy and fruit cocktail, arguing that it is safer to use natural coloring derived from plants such as beets and red cabbage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Studies have shown that high doses could cause cancer in rats, prompting the FDA to decide to remove the artificial dye. But the agency maintains that there is no evidence that ingesting the cherry-red coloring causes cancer in humans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The FDA\u2019s decision comes at a crucial time for food policy in the United States. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whom President-elect Donald Trump<\/a> picked to lead the nation\u2019s health department, has been critical of some chemicals and ingredients found in food and drinks. Social media influencers and lawmakers in both parties are also increasingly scrutinizing food and drinks sold in grocery stores, while the FDA pleads for more money from Congress to devote to chemical safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Red dye No. 3 must be removed from food by mid-January 2027 and excised from ingested drugs the following year. The FDA says its decision to ban red dye No. 3 was based on a federal law called the Delaney Clause, which prohibits additives found to cause cancer in humans or animals at any dose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Delaney Clause is clear; the FDA cannot authorize a food additive or color additive if it has been found to cause cancer in humans or animals,\u201d Jim Jones, the FDA\u2019s deputy commissioner for human foods, said in a statement. \u201cImportantly, the way that \u2026 Red No. 3 causes cancer in male rats does not occur in humans.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Opponents of red dye No. 3 \u2014 also known as erythrosine or FD&C Red No. 3 \u2014 have argued that the additive should have been banned decades ago, and scientists have long debated the safety of food additives. The nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest led a 2022 petition<\/a> asking the agency to formally remove the dye from the list of approved color additives in foods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The agency faced pressure from Democrats and Republicans to act on the additive, and the battle over red dye No. 3 highlighted criticism that the FDA does not move with sufficient urgency to remove potentially dangerous food ingredients. In response, agency officials have said they recently finalized a massive reorganization of the FDA\u2019s food program, which includes an office dedicated to reviewing chemicals found in food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

In 1990, the FDA forbade use of the color additive in cosmetics<\/a>, including lipstick and blush, because of studies linking it to cancer in rats. At the time, the agency said it would take steps to eliminate red dye No. 3 in food and other products, but it did not follow through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not surprised FDA has asserted that the risk is small, since it\u2019s a chemical they failed to ban for years,\u201d Peter Lurie, president of the Center for Science in the Public Interest and a former FDA official, said in a statement. \u201cBut the truth is Congress made plain decades ago that this was exactly the type of chemical \u2014 one that causes cancer in animals \u2014 it was trying to keep out of the US food supply.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The FDA estimates that the artificial dye is not as widely<\/a> used in food and drugs when compared with other colorings, adding that it is primarily used in products such as candy, cakes and frozen desserts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The International Association of Color Manufacturers, which represents the color additives industry, said it \u201cremains steadfast in its commitment to upholding the highest safety standards for color additives,\u201d while noting the agency said<\/a>research does not support <\/strong>claims the dye puts people at risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cScience has advanced significantly in the past three decades, and it is now a well-accepted principle that test animals fed additives in high concentrations may produce increased incidences of tumors, but that does not necessarily indicate that the same effects will pertain to humans,\u201d the group wrote in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a statement Wednesday, the National Confectioners Association, a trade organization, said it will comply with the FDA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur consumers and everyone in the food industry want and expect a strong FDA, and a consistent, science-based national regulatory framework,\u201d the candy-maker <\/strong>group said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2023, California passed a law<\/a> prohibiting food from being sold in the state if it contains red dye No. 3, brominated vegetable oil and other additives. Companies have until 2027 to reformulate their food and drinks or to stop selling the products. Some prominent manufacturers have already removed the dye from popular items, such as in Peeps candy<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other dyes have faced public pushback, such as red dye No. 40, a widely used coloring found in some popular breakfast cereals that has a different chemical composition from red dye No. 3.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

January 15, 2025 – by Rachel Roubein in the Washington Post Studies show high doses could cause cancer in rats, but the regulators maintain that no evidence exists that ingesting the coloring causes cancer in humans. Federal officials moved Wednesday … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5078","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/valleywatch.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5078","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/valleywatch.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/valleywatch.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/valleywatch.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/valleywatch.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5078"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/valleywatch.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5078\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5084,"href":"http:\/\/valleywatch.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5078\/revisions\/5084"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/valleywatch.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5078"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/valleywatch.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5078"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/valleywatch.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5078"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}