Red Dye No.3-Erythrosine and More Artificial Colorants.
When it takes 30 years to ban a toxic chemical from food.
Red No. 3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erythrosine. C20H6I4Na2O5
Red No. 3, also referred to as Red Dye No. 3, Red Dye 3, and erythrosine, is a synthetic food dye that gives certain foods and drinks a bright, cherry-red color, and is found in certain candy, cakes and cupcakes, cookies, frozen desserts, and frostings and icings, and ingested drugs. Erythrosine (ErB) is a xanthene described as an inhibitor of enzymes and protein-protein interactions and is toxic to pituitary and spermatogenesis processes.
Synonyms for Red Dye 3: FD & C Red 3, Acid Red 51; Food Red No. 3; Tetraiodofluorescein Sodium Salt; Aizen Erythrosine; Calcoid Erythrosine N. E127.
Chemistry: Erythrosine is manufactured by iodination of fluorescein, the condensation product of resorcinol and phthalic anhydride. Erythrosine may be converted to the corresponding aluminium lake, in which case only the requirements in the General Specifications for Aluminium Lakes of Colouring Matters apply.
The US Food and Drug Administration has banned the use of red dye No. 3 in food and ingested drugs, more than 30 years after scientists discovered links to cancer in animals, the agency announced Wednesday. The FDA determined as early as 1990 that Red 3, whose chemical name is erythrosine, should be banned in cosmetics because of its link to thyroid cancer in male rats. The additive continued to be used in foods, mainly due to resistance from the food industry.
The FDA is revoking the authorization for the use of FD&C Red No. 3 based on the Delaney Clause of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act). The Delaney Clause, enacted in 1960 as part of the Color Additives Amendment to the FD&C Act, prohibits FDA authorization of a food additive or color additive if it has been found to induce cancer in humans or animals.
The move acts on a November 2022 petition submitted by multiple advocacy organizations and individuals, including the Center for Science in the Public Interest and the Environmental Working Group, which cited links to cancer. The decision by the federal agency also follows in the footsteps of California, whose government banned the additive in October 2023 along with brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, and propylparaben, with enforcement of that ban beginning on 1 January 2027, two weeks earlier than the federal ban.
Food manufacturers have until January 2027 to eliminate red No. 3 from their products. But some manufacturers could reformulate more quickly.
Red dye #3 is found in a lot of foods. The Environmental Working Group has compiled a list of more than 3,000 consumer products that contain Red No. 3, which includes everything from fruit cocktails to flavored milk (Nesquik strawberry-flavored low-fat milk, Popsicles, including Nerds Bomb Pops, for example), cake mixes, and candy. However, consumer groups worry that some food companies may replace red No. 3 with red No. 40, which has also been linked to behavioral issues in kids. The advocates argued that the additive is associated with cancer and behavioral problems in children. Popular foods with Red Dye, like Doritos and Flamin' Hot Cheetos, contain Red Dye No. 40. That synthetic food dye is used to achieve a bright crimson color in food and candy. Food manufacturers will have until 2027 to reformulate their products without Red Dye No. 3. They may replace it with Red Dye 40, which is linked to hyperactivity in children.
Red No. 3 has also been used in medicines such as acetaminophen. Drugmakers will have until January 2028 to eliminate the dye from their products.
We must look at the labels and avoid additives or any dye. Manufacturers are required to list the ingredients but not the warning. This is a great reason not to give children candies but to make them more scientifically literate by sending them to supermarkets and asking them to find all the products that contain colorants. As a food additive, it has the E number E127.
It is listed under the following number systems:
FD&C Red No. 3
E number E127 (Food Red 14)
Colour Index no. 45430 (Acid Red 51)
Bureau of Indian Standards No. 1697
1- Potential Neurobehavioral Effects of Synthetic CalEPA OEHHA Food Dyes in Children. CalEPA OEHHA. April 2021. https://oehha.ca.gov/media/downloads/risk-assessment/report/healthefftsassess041621.pdf
2- Know your environment. Protect your health. https://www.ewg.org/foodscores/ingredients/19151-RED3/search/?page=1&per_page=48&type=products
3- Beyond red dye No. 3: Here's what parents should know about food colorings https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/01/18/nx-s1-5262621/red-dye-3-food-children.
4-What Parents Need to Know: