The Food and Drug Administration announced Wednesday that it’s banning the usage of Red No. 3, an artificial dye that provides foods and drinks their brilliant red cherry color but has been linked to cancer in animals.
The dye remains to be utilized in 1000’s of foods, including candy, cereal, cherries in fruit cocktails and strawberry-flavored milkshakes, in line with the Center for Science within the Public Interest, a food safety advocacy group that has petitioned the agency to phase it out in 2022 use.
The FDA's decision represents a victory for consumer advocacy groups and a few U.S. lawmakers who’ve long pushed the FDA to revoke approval of the additive, citing ample evidence that its use in drinks, dietary supplements, cereals and candy causes cancer and might affect children's behavior.
Food manufacturers have until January 15, 2027 to reformulate their products. Companies that make ingested medications like dietary supplements get an additional yr.
“The FDA cannot approve a food additive or color additive if it has been determined to cause cancer in humans or animals,” Jim Jones, FDA deputy director for human foods, said in an announcement. “There is evidence that male laboratory rats exposed to high concentrations of FD&C Red No. 3 developed cancer.”
What is Red Dye #3?
Red dye No. 3, approved to be used in food in 1907, is produced from petroleum.
The FDA first became aware that the additive was potentially carcinogenic after a study within the Nineteen Eighties that found tumors in male rats exposed to it at high doses. The authority banned the additive in cosmetics in 1990.
“It removes an unnecessary threat to the American food supply, and we welcome this action, even though it should have been taken more than three decades ago,” said Dr. Peter Lurie, president of the Center for Science within the Public Interest, a top-ranking research institute. Profile of a Food Industry Monitoring Group.
Red No. 3 is already banned or severely restricted in locations outside the United States, including Australia, Japan, and European Union countries.
Some US food manufacturers have added artificial colours, including Red No. 3, already faraway from their products.
All color additives should be approved by the FDA before they could be utilized in foods sold within the United States. There are 36 FDA-approved color additives, nine of that are synthetic colours.
The FDA has stated that it’s approving Red No.
There are also concerns about whether artificial food coloring could affect children's behavior. The FDA in 2011 examined the possible connection between artificial colours and hyperactivity in children. However, it found that no causal relationship may very well be established.
Although the FDA is now revoking its approval and halting its use nationwide, other states have already taken motion.
According to CSPI, California and 10 other states have already taken steps to ban the food dye.
image credit : www.cnbc.com