RED ALERT

FDA Bans Common Food Dye ‘Red No. 3’ Over Cancer Concerns

The dye gives thousands of foods and beverages their cherry red color.

The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday banned Red No. 3, a dye that gives many candies and sodas their cherry-red color, after it caused cancer in lab rats, according to NBC News. The dye is used in more than 9,200 food items—including cereals, strawberry milkshakes, and cherries in fruit cocktails—the Center for Science in the Public Interest told NBC. The dye was banned from use in cosmetics in 1990. “At long last, the FDA is ending the regulatory paradox of Red 3 being illegal for use in lipstick, but perfectly legal to feed to children in the form of candy,” CSPI’s president, Dr. Peter Lurie, told NBC, Red No.3, which is made from petroleum, was approved for use in food in 1907. Specific products containing Red No. 3 include Brach’s conversation hearts, Ring Pops, Pez, Kroger’s Neapolitan ice cream, and Nesquik low-fat strawberry milk, according to USA Today. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the conspiracy theorist who is Donald Trump’s pick for health secretary, has said he would make removing artificial dyes from food a priority. He is set to face a Senate confirmation hearing, although its date has not been announced.