Red Dye No. 3, a food additive known for giving products its vibrant red color, has been banned across America from all foods and drugs. The Biden Food and Drug Administration announced this ban Jan. 15, 2025. Concern for the health of consumers was taken into account as this synthetic dye has been proven to cause cancer in lab rats when they are exposed to high doses.
Food companies have until Jan. 15, 2027 to remove the dye from their products, while ingested drug companies will be given until Jan. 18, 2028 to reformulate their products. All foods imported to the U.S. must meet the new requirements.
Products that will be undergoing changes to meet the new requirements include:
- Brach’s Conversation Hearts
- Brach’s Candy Corn
- PEZ Candy
- Dubble Bubble Gum (Original)
- Some Ring Pops
- Maraschino Cherries
- Nesquik Strawberry Milk
- Pillsbury Funfetti Strawberry Cake Mix
- Trolli Sour Crunchy Crawlers
- Betty Crocker Red Decorating Icing
- Cotton Candy Captain Crunch
- Some cough syrups and gummy vitamins
This dye contains no nutritional value and is used only for aesthetic purposes. Some simple swaps we may see include red radish, purple sweet potato, carmine (obtained from cochineal: extracted from powdered insects), Red Dye No. 40, beet juice, etc.
With the ban of Red Dye No. 3 comes an important question: What about Red Dye No. 40? Red Dye No. 40 is more popular than Red Dye No. 3 and is found in over 36,000 products sold in the U.S. today. It has been linked to a rise in ADHD in children.
California was the first state to enact a ban on Red Dye No. 40 in schools in Sept. 2024. With new Trump Administration, Red Dye No. 40 may be next to go.
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