The Food and Drug Administration announced on Wednesday that it is banning the use of Red Dye N0. 3 in all foods produced in America. The organization has come under fire recently from legislators on both sides of the aisle for allowing the dye’s continued use in foods despite studies indicating it contains possible carcinogens and could have detrimental effects on neurological development.
“The FDA is taking action that will remove the authorization for the use of FD&C Red No. 3 in food and ingested drugs,” said Jim Jones, the FDA’s deputy commissioner for human foods. “Evidence shows cancer in laboratory male rats exposed to high levels of FD&C Red No.3. Importantly, the way that FD&C Red No. 3 causes cancer in male rats does not occur in humans.”
Leading the charge against the use of harmful dyes in foods are Senators Tommy Tuberville and Katie Britt. Both elected officials have expressed the importance of reevaluating the use of dyes in foods, with both calling for the total ban of Red No. 3 and Red 40. Officials with the FDA recently said that Red 40 hasn’t been evaluated in more than a decade.
In a recent hearing, Tuberville took FDA leadership to task on the continued mass use of red food dyes.
GOOD.
I called out FDA officials DEMANDING answers on Red Dye No. 3 last Congress, and I will keep working with @RobertKennedyJr and the MAHA Caucus to MAKE AMERICA HEALTHY AGAIN! https://t.co/T2S9KXa0Ep
— Coach Tommy Tuberville (@SenTuberville) January 15, 2025
“Red [Dye No.] 3 has been known to cause cancer [when used in] cosmetics, but we still allow it to be put into our food,” Tuberville said. “I don’t understand that. If we know something is deadly for anybody that ingests it, how do we continue to just study that and not say enough’s enough?”
“We all hear Europe uses different dyes because they’ve come up with their evaluation that it does cause problems for humans,” he said. “I hope the FDA feels a responsibility to humans.”
Tuberville recently helped to launch the ‘Make America Healthy Again’ caucus. The group will work alongside the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to promote nutrient-rich foods, minimize chronic diseases, prioritize regenerative agriculture, and improve health care.
Sen. Katie Britt also questioned why America still allows the use of the food dye.
“In Europe, artificial red dye is heavily regulated and requires a label warning of its danger. Yet, in the U.S., it’s quietly added to everyday food from protein shakes to breakfast cereal. We need to raise our standards to Make America Healthy Again.”
In Europe, artificial red dye is heavily regulated and requires a label warning of its danger.
Yet, in the U.S., it’s quietly added to everyday food from protein shakes to breakfast cereal.
We need to raise our standards to Make America Healthy Again.
— Senator Katie Boyd Britt (@SenKatieBritt) January 3, 2025
Red No. 3 has been found to cause thyroid cancer in laboratory animals. The FDA banned its use in cosmetics and topical drugs in 1990 but until now still allowed it in foods. The European Union, Australia, and New Zealand have each banned the use of Red 3 in all products.
California was the first state to ban Red No. 3. in 2023.
Austen Shipley is the News Director for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @ShipleyAusten
