Decades after a study found a link between Red dye no. 3 and cancer, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has ordered food and drug manufacturers to remove the colorant from their products.
The move comes as Robert Kennedy Jr. awaits confirmation hearings as President Trump’s pick for Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary—with a mandate to “Make America Healthy Again (MAHA).
The red dye was banned from cosmetics and non-oral medications 35-years ago after the study showed it caused cancer when eaten by rats in high doses. The dye, known as erythrosine, continued to be used in candies, snack foods and other grocery products despite the cancer link, as it remained approved for human consumption.
“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,” the FDA said in its announcement. However, the link to cancer was enough for them to finally ban the color additive in food and medicine.
In addition to the cancer risk, research has indicated that red dye No. 3 could be “associated with attention and behavioral issues in children, as well as damage to the reproductive system, according to Health.
“There is growing scientific evidence that this is an unnecessary and harmful additive that can be removed from our food supply,” said Monica L. Wang, ScD, an associate professor at the Boston University School of Public Health. “In addition to a scientific perspective, just from a common sense perspective, this isn’t something we need to consume.”
A Los Angeles-based registered dietitian and nutritionist applauded the ban, telling Fox News that Red 3 dye has been in food products for “far too long.”
“What is wild is that this decision comes over three decades after the same dye was banned in cosmetics like lipstick because there was enough evidence linking it to cancer in animals,” nutritionist Ilana Muhlstein said. “For years, consumer advocacy groups and researchers have pushed for this change, citing not only cancer risks but also potential links to hyperactivity and ADHD in kids.”
Products that contain Red 3 dye include: Swedish Fish and Wild Cherry Lifesavers, Pillsbury’s Funfetti Valentine’s Day Vanilla Frosting, Edy’s Strawberry Ice Cream, multiple maraschino cherry brands, and Robitussen Adult Cough syrup, Pez Candy (assorted fruit), Dubble Bubble Original Twist Bubble Gum, Trolli Sour Crunchy Crawlers Candy, Yoo-hoo Strawberry Flavored Drink, Good Humor Strawberry Shortcake Bar, and other frozen desserts, McCormick red food coloring (and other brands of food coloring), some brands of gummy vitamins, and some snack cakes and frostings.
Red dye no. 3 is just one of many problematic colorants on the market.
RFK Jr., the son of former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, has long been vocal about his opposition to food dyes.
“The first thing I’d do isn’t going to cost you anything because I’m just gonna tell the cereal companies: Take all the dyes out of their food,” Kennedy said in October.
In a speech delivered on the day he suspended his campaign last August, Kennedy listed several key issues upon which he and Trump agreed, including “ending the forever wars, ending the childhood disease epidemic, securing the border, protecting freedom of speech, unraveling the corporate capture of our regulatory agencies, getting the U.S. intelligence agencies out of the business of propagandizing and censoring and surveilling Americans, and interfering with out elections.”
As Trump’s MAHA Czar, Kennedy would work to reverse the chronic disease epidemic, the leading cause of death in the U.S., setting his sights on big food and big pharma.
His to-do list includes “overhauling dietary guidelines, reforming federal programs that pay for ultra-processed foods, taking on crop subsidies, and potentially banning pesticides and chemicals.”
The date of his Senate confirmation hearings for the health secretary position has not yet been announced, but it is expected to be a bumpy process with opposition from both sides of the aisle.
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