Red Dye No 3, a contentious food coloration that has long been associated with animal cancer, was banned by the cheerful Joe Biden authorities on Wednesday. The choice comes 30 decades after it was removed from cosmetics and years after clinical data established the risk.
“FDA is revoking the official uses in food and fed medicines of FD&, C Red No. 3 in the color additive regulations”, the US Food and Drug Administration ( FDA ) announced on Wednesday.
” The FDA is taking steps that will reduce the C Red No. 1 FD& approval.” 3 in foods and fed drugs”, said Jim Jones, the FDA’s lieutenant director for individual products. ” Laboratory adult animals exposed to high degrees of FD&, C Red No., have evidence of cancer. 3. Interestingly, the way that FD&, C Red No. 3 causes cancer in men animals does not result in people”, it said.
The choice comes in response to California’s decision last year to outlaw four food dyes, including Red 3, and it is in response to growing pressure to harmonise US laws with greater European Union standards.
Worries about health challenges
Red 3 has been outlawed from makeup since 1990 because of its harmful effects in pet tests. This decision was made in accordance with the 1960 Delaney Clause, which forbids determining whether a color additive is healthy if it causes cancer in people or animals. Despite this, the colour remains approved in foods.
Employing a cautious approach to consumer safety, Western countries now require warning labels or boycott some dyes entirely.
The dye is safe in amounts that people generally consume, according to the International Association of Color Manufacturers. The party draws attention to studies by clinical committees run by the UN and the World Health Organization, including a 2018 evaluation that confirmed the Red 3 ingredient’s safety, according to AP. Some food companies have now modified their products to reduce Red 3.