The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is cracking down on common additives to sweets and snacks. according to Associated PressThe agency moved to ban Red No. 3 dye from the country’s food supply. Other names for red dye include erythrosine or FD&C Red No. 3 or Red 3.
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Details about the ban on red dye No. 3
The FDA made the move to honor a petition from 2022 that called out the dangers of the color red. More than two dozen food safety and health advocates signed the petition.
However, concerns about the red dye are decades old. Specifically, it’s been 35 years since the number 3 was last allowed in cosmetics. Studies have shown the development of cancer in laboratory mice exposed to the dye. However, Jim Jones, the agency’s deputy commissioner for human foods, said the FD&C Red No. 3 It does not cause cancer in humans and mice in the same way.
However, the FDA complies with the Delaney Clause, which requires a ban on any substances that can cause cancer in living organisms. This new ban means that the red dye cannot be used in foods, nutritional supplements and oral medicines, such as cough syrup.
What will happen next?
While the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently announced a ban on red dye, it is giving food manufacturers additional time to correct course. Manufacturers will have until January 2027 to remove the dyes, while drug makers have until January 2028. California has banned the substance starting in January 2027. Even imported goods will be subject to the new US requirements. Countries in Europe and Australia have already banned Red 3.
It is unclear whether food manufacturers will oppose the ban, especially without evidence of cancer effects in humans. However, some manufacturers have already begun replacing Red 3 with food dyes from beet juice, purple sweet potatoes, radishes, and red cabbage. Cochineal, a dye made from insects, was also used.
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What do you think, Romez?
