The Food and Drug Administration could soon move to ban a controversial red food coloring used in countless U.S. drinks, snacks, candies and breakfast cereals that have been found to cause cancer in animals.
The FDA indicates that Red 3, also known as erythrosine, could be banned in foods within weeks.
“With Red 3, there is a petition before us to revoke the authorization board, and we are hopeful that we will act on that petition in the coming weeks,” said Jim Jones, the FDA’s deputy commissioner for human health. foods, Thursday before the U.S. Senate Health Committee.
The petition states that the FDA should ban Red 3 because the 1960 Delaney Clause prohibits the FDA from considering a color additive safe if it has caused cancer in animals or humans “in any dose.”
The agency used that clause as a pretext to ban Red 3, also known as erythrosine, in cosmetic products such as lipstick in 1990, because high doses of the chemical caused cancer in rats in tests.
Red 3 is used in almost 3,000 foods Center for Science in the Public Interest.
Some popular items that use it are Pez, Peeps, Betty Crocker’s Fruit by the Foot, Dubble Bubble gum, Entenmann’s Little Bites and Hostess’ Ding Dongs.
Red 3 does not provide any nutritional value, like other artificial colors, and is added by companies to make their products appear brighter and more colorful.
The FDA could ban Red 3 in the coming weeks. The food additive is found in many drinks, snacks, candies and cereals sold in the United States
Peeps are just one of thousands of products known to contain Red 3 as an ingredient, despite known health risks
Public health groups have linked Red 3 to behavioral problems in children, increasing momentum to eventually ban it.
Last year, California banned four food dyes, including Red 3. The controversial chemical had been banned in the European Union since the early 1990s.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Donald Trump’s pick to be the next Secretary of Health, has also spoken out about the cancer-causing risks posed by food dyes like Red 3.
“There are some departments, like the nutritional departments of the FDA, that need to go, that are not doing their jobs, they are not protecting our children,” he said. NBC News in November.
Frank Pallone, a New Jersey Democrat who is a ranking member of the U.S. House of Representatives Energy Committee, also recently wrote a letter to the FDA asking it to ban Red 3.
“With the holidays in full swing and sweet treats plentiful, it is frightening that this chemical remains hidden in the food we and our children eat,” the congressman wrote.
“While food companies must ensure that the food they market is safe, they also need only ensure that their products meet FDA standards. This means that thousands of products containing this chemical can remain on the market.”