The FDA revoked authorization for the use of Red #3 in food and drugs in the US on January 15th 2025. If you want to read what they wrote click here. This is good news for everyone who wants a healthier food supply, and especially good news for anyone who suffers from symptoms of ADD or ADHD since ingestion of the dye is linked to worsening of symptoms.
I found it interesting that they said they were revoking authorization based on the Delaney Clause of the Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act which “prohibits FDA authorization of a food additive or color additive if it has been found to induce cancer in humans or animals”. They also said “claims that the use of FD&C Red No. 3 in food and in ingested drugs puts people at risk are not supported by the available scientific information.” Basically they said there is a study that says it causes cancer in some rats, but the doses people get are much lower than the doses the rats got. They also say there is no evidence that it causes cancer in humans (because they haven’t studied it in humans), and there is no data showing people are at risk from it (again because they haven’t looked). They are banning it because it has been proven to cause cancer… in rats. If it sounds convoluted to you, I agree. Why after all do we use rats in the studies? Simply, they are a great model to show possible effects in PEOPLE.
Data linking Red dye #3 to cancer in rats has been available to the FDA since the rat study was published in 1987. There was certainly other data that pointed to the problem long before this, but nevertheless the publishing of this study made it much harder to deny the links. So the non water soluble form of the dye (FD&C Red 3 Aluminum Lake) was banned from cosmetics and topical drugs in 1990. However, they did nothing to reduce our EATING of the stuff until 2025. So it was toxic enough then to keep it off your skin, but safe to eat. Until now. Well almost now. The ban goes into effect for food on January 15 2027, and drugs on January 18, 2028. Until then you can still find it in products marketed in the US. So please read your labels. Better yet, eat foods that aren’t processed and therefore don’t have labels. For a handy list of names of artificial colors, you can keep in your wallet to help you when reading labels click below.