The Science Behind The FDA Ban On Food Dye Red No. 3

On Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration announced it is banning the dye called Red No. 3, a food dye additive in many processed foods, like sodas, sweets and snacks. Recently, it and other dyes were linked to behavior issues in children. But high levels of Red No. 3 were linked to cancer in rats decades ago. So why is the ban happening now? Senior editor and science desk correspondent Maria Godoy answers our questions about Red No. 3 and other dyes that may replace it. Plus, how should parents think about feeding their kids products that may contain Red No. 3 before the ban takes affect. Questions, story ideas or want us to dig into another food science issue? Email us at [email protected] mailto:[email protected] — we'd love to hear from you! Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave http://plus.npr.org/shortwave. See pcm.adswizz.com https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy

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• 0:00Speaker 00

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• 0:17Emily Kwong?

  You're listening to Short Wave from NPR. Hey, Shortwavers. Emily Kwong here with the lovely Maria Godoy, senior editor and correspondent with the NPR Science Desk. Hey, Maria.

• 0:29Speaker 02

  Hey, Emily.

• 0:30Emily Kwong?

  You are here to walk me through an announcement from the Food and Drug Administration that happened Wednesday. That's like a pretty big deal.

• 0:37Speaker 02

  Yeah, so they announced that they're banning the food dye Red Number Three, or in FDA terms, that's revoking authorization.

• 0:44Emily Kwong?

  Very official. Red dye Number Three, of course, is a very widely-used food dye. It's been authorized for decades.

• 0:51Speaker 02

  For half a century, actually, and it's in thousands of products. It's a petroleum-based dye that's in everything from candy to all sorts of snack foods, and sodas, too, because it gives products this very bright cherry-red color. And in 2002, a petition was filed with the FDA to ban the dye. So the FDA has been reviewing the petition and the evidence ever since. In an effort to comply with a provision from a 1958 law known as the Delaney Clause.

• 1:19Emily Kwong?

  What is the Delaney Clause?

• 1:20Speaker 02

  So it's part of a series of laws that were passed following hearings in the early 1950s by Representative James Delaney. This one targets food additives, and it says specifically, no food additive can be authorized if it's been found to cause cancer.

• 1:37Emily Kwong?

  So today on the show, Red Dye Number Three.

• 1:40Speaker 02

  What the research shows about its link to cancer, what other dyes you should be aware of, and what parents should know before letting their kids eat artificially colored food.

• 1:48Emily Kwong?

  I'm Emily Kwong.

• 1:49Speaker 02

  And I'm Maria Godoy.

• 1:50Emily Kwong?

  And you're listening to Short Wave, the science podcast from NPR.

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• 3:09Emily Kwong?

  OK, Maria, tell me about this petition. What did it ask for?

• 3:14Speaker 02

  Well, so this petition requested the FDA look into whether the Delaney Clause applied to red dye number three. And it included two studies that showed male lab rats exposed to very high levels of the food coloring develop cancer.

• 3:27Emily Kwong?

  Just male lab rats?

• 3:29Speaker 02

  Yeah, because historically, scientists just used male rats in many experiments because they thought female hormone cycles would skew the results. There's actually been an effort to change that.

• 3:39Emily Kwong?

  Interesting. OK.

• 3:40Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 3:40Emily Kwong?

  So red dye number three in high doses causes cancer in rats. But we've known about that for decades, right?

• 3:47Speaker 02

  Right, so back in 1990, the FDA banned the use of red number three in cosmetics and medicated ointments and lotions, but the agency concluded it was safe for humans in the amounts used in food. It basically argued that humans aren't going to be eating red dye number three in amounts large enough to cause cancer. The FDA says it has evaluated the safety of red number three multiple times since its original approval for use in food in 1969, but other countries have come to different conclusions. So the dye is banned or severely restricted in many places, Australia, Japan, and many European Union countries, too. And in 2023, California became the first US

• 4:30Speaker 02

  state to ban red number three, although that ban doesn't take effect until 2027.

• 4:36Emily Kwong?

  This is quite the saga. Okay, so this is the decades-long journey of red dye number three. Why has it taken so long for the FDA to act in this direction?

• 4:46Speaker 02

  I mean, that's what a lot of people want to know.

• 4:49Emily Kwong?

  Yeah.

• 4:49Speaker 02

  So consumer groups have welcomed this move by the FDA, but honestly, they're pretty upset that it took this long, considering the evidence linking the dye to cancer in rats has been around for 30 years.

• 5:00Emily Kwong?

  Yeah.

• 5:00Speaker 02

  Dr. Peter Lurie is the executive director of the Center for Science and the Public Interest, and you know, that's the group that brought the petition, and he's been nudging the FDA for years to act.

• 5:10Speaker 04

  It feels great to see this finally take place, but the law is absolutely clear. Any additive that causes cancer in humans or animals is not supposed to be in the food supply, but somehow FDA has tolerated this, even after admitting that it caused cancer over three decades ago.

• 5:27Emily Kwong?

  Yeah, he sounds frustrated. Okay, well, how prevalent is red dye three in food right now?

• 5:33Speaker 02

  It's in a lot of foods. Now, I should note that manufacturers are constantly reformulating their products, but there's a list of more than 3,000 packaged foods and drinks that contain red three. It's compiled by the Environmental Working Group, and it includes everything from fruit cocktail to flavored milk, cake mixes to candy.

• 5:51Emily Kwong?

  Yeah.

• 5:52Speaker 02

  And you know, consumer groups' worries go beyond both red number three and its link to cancer. There are Also worried about eight other synthetic food dyes in the food supply. You know, they come in different colors like red forty, yellow five. And there's evidence linking all these dyes to behavioral issues in kids.

• 6:08Emily Kwong?

  Oh, really? What kinds of issues?

• 6:11Speaker 02

  Well, studies suggest food dyes can make some children and adolescents hyperactive, irritable, inattentive, or moody. Dr. Mark Miller was the lead author of a 2022 paper that reviewed the existing evidence in animals and humans. Here's what he told NPR back in 2023.

• 6:28Speaker 05

  I think the evidence is compelling from those human studies that children's consumption of synthetic food dyes can contribute to increases in symptoms like inattention, hyperactivity in some children.

• 6:44Speaker 02

  So Mark was part of a team of scientists with California's Environmental Protection Agency that reviewed the body of evidence on synthetic dyes in foods. And out of more than 25 studies, more than half of those identified an association between artificial food coloring consumption and these symptoms in children. And you know, in addition to banning red number three, last year, California passed a second law banning a group of six other synthetic food dyes in school meals, including blue one, green three, red forty, yellow six, a whole rainbow of synthetic food dyes.

• 7:16Emily Kwong?

  A lot. Okay, so why isn't the FDA looking then at these other synthetic food dyes?

• 7:22Speaker 02

  Yeah, well, there are advocacy groups that want the FDA to go further. Here's Peter again with the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

• 7:29Speaker 04

  We're also trying to get warning labels on other dyes that have been associated with ADHD-like symptoms in children.

• 7:38Speaker 02

  And you know, this is also a health disparities issue because research suggests that low-income communities are exposed to a lot more synthetic food dyes.

• 7:45Emily Kwong?

  Yeah. Can you tell me more about that? Like, why?

• 7:48Speaker 02

  The short answer is that these dyes are more common in cheaper foods. So we're talking ultra-processed foods that are designed to be shelf-stable. Think sugary snacks and drinks that are bright and colorful, and so they appeal to kids. And there's evidence that people experiencing food insecurity eat more of this stuff because it's what's available and affordable.

• 8:06Emily Kwong?

  Okay, so now that- That the FDA has banned red number three. How soon will it be gone? Will these products just like disappear off the shelf overnight?

• 8:15Speaker 02

  No, not at all. So food manufacturers have until January 2027 to eliminate red dye number three from their products. But some manufacturers could reformulate more quickly because companies have known that an FDA ban was a possibility for a while now. And of course, California has already banned several of these food dyes. And often when California acts on an issue, it's a big enough state that it prompts manufacturers to change their products to comply just across the board.

• 8:43Emily Kwong?

  And what are some of those manufacturers replacing it with? Like, what are the alternatives to red dye number three?

• 8:48Speaker 02

  Yeah, so consumer groups worry that some manufacturers may just replace red number three with red forty. And in fact, some food manufacturers have done that.

• 8:57Emily Kwong?

  Oh.

• 8:57Speaker 02

  And red forty, like other synthetic food dyes, has been linked to behavior issues in kids. While it's not banned in Europe, its use is more restricted. So food sold in the EU that contain red forty and other dyes have to carry a health warning that says they may, quote, "have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children."

• 9:17Emily Kwong?

  Wow.

• 9:18Speaker 02

  But there are natural food colorings from compounds found in fruits and vegetables. Turmeric and beetroot are some common options. You can get green colors from chlorophyll, which is that green pigment found in plant stems and leaves. And, you know, there is precedent for this kind of change. So when Kraft Foods decided to take synthetic food dyes out of its mac and cheese products about a decade ago, it replaced them with colors from spices like paprika and turmeric.

• 9:42Emily Kwong?

  I didn't know that. Yes, much more tasty than petroleum-based dyes.

• 9:46Speaker 02

  And slightly less bright, too.

• 9:48Emily Kwong?

  This is true, this is true. But in the meantime, I mean, soda, candy, these are all things kids like. So while this two-year transition is underway, what should parents do? What should they feed their kids?

• 10:01Speaker 02

  I think the advice is fundamentally the same when it comes to eating, no matter what we're talking about, which is focus on feeding your kids plant-based foods, fruits and vegetables, beans, whole grains, you know, the things we should all be eating for our health, grownups too. If you're concerned about synthetic food dyes, check the label. You know, by law, these synthetic food dyes have to be listed on the ingredient label. So just when you're shopping for packaged foods, make sure that they don't have them if you want to avoid them. And then also just try to limit ultra-processed foods, which, you know, are often high in salt, sugar, and saturated fat, and low in fiber, which means they're not great for you anyway.

• 10:37Emily Kwong?

  Yeah.

• 10:37Speaker 02

  But I'm a parent of two kids. I know what's out there. I know what they like to eat. And so like, if your kid eats a bright red cupcake at a friend's birthday party, you know, definitely don't panic. Just focus on keeping their overall pattern of eating healthy.

• 10:51Emily Kwong?

  Yeah.

• 10:51Speaker 02

  The occasional bright orange cheesy puff isn't going to kill them. Although it might stain their teeth for a while.

• 10:57Emily Kwong?

  Yeah, or their fingers and cause cleanup for you.

• 10:59Speaker 02

  It's a danger to your couch, right?

• 11:00Emily Kwong?

  Miru Kadoy, thank you so much for sharing this reporting with us.

• 11:03Speaker 02

  Oh, my pleasure, Chica.

• 11:07Emily Kwong?

  Hey, you, listening to Short Wave. Thank you, by the way, for listening. And make sure you never miss a new episode by following us on whichever podcasting platform you're listening to. And if you have a science question, send it to us at [email protected]. This episode was produced by Hannah Chin. It was edited by Jane Greenhalgh and Burley McCoy. Tyler Jones checked the facts. Kwasi Lee was the audio engineer. Beth Donovan is our senior director, and Colin Campbell is our senior vice president of podcasting strategy. I'm Emily Kwong. Thank you for listening to Short Wave from NPR.

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