Why You Should Avoid Foods Containing Banned Red Dye No. 3

It could take two years for foods to remove Red Dye No. 3 under the new FDA ban. Here’s what you need to know in the meantime to stay safe.

On January 15, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned the red food dye known as Red No. 3, and that has consumers scrambling to understand which products to toss or remove from their grocery lists altogether. The substance was banned from use in food, drinks, and oral drugs based on studies from 2022 showing it caused cancer in lab rats when ingested in high amounts. 

The ban was announced just weeks before February 2024 but long after it should have, said Thomas Galligan, Principal Scientist for Additives and Supplements for the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). “We hope to see FDA and Congress act soon to reform the broken federal regulatory systems that have allowed unsafe chemicals to enter and stay in our food supply for so long,” said Galligan. 

According to CSPI, Red No. 3 was banned from cosmetics in 1990, based on the FDA’s own evidence that the dye caused cancer in animals, but it was permitted in foods, beverages, and oral drugs for another 34 years. Here’s what you need to know about Red No. 3., including where it’s used. 

What is Red No. 3?

Red No. 3 is a synthetic colored additive made from petroleum that’s used in foods, beverages, and ingested drugs to add a bright, cherry-red color.

What foods contain Red No. 3? 

• Candy
• Cakes
• Cupcakes
• Cookies
• Frozen desserts
• Frostings
• Icings
• Certain Maraschino cherries 
• Certain processed meats and meat substitutes

Popular Valentine’s candies that use Red No. 3 include conversation hearts, candy corn, cherry cordials, original Dubble Bubble gum, Pez, and some flavors of Ringpop.

A list compiled by Drugs.com includes these four medications that have Red No. 3 in them: Acetaminophen, Doxycycline Monohydrate, Gabapentin, and Vyvanse.

When will affected products be free of Red No. 3?

California banned Red No. 3 in 2023 and gave manufacturers until 2027 to revise their recipes. The FDA gives food manufacturers until Jan. 15, 2027, to reformulate their products and a deadline of Jan. 18, 2028, for ingested drugs containing the dye.

What will be used in place of Red No. 3? 
Some companies will use Red No. 40 in its place, although primary studies a the Cleveland Clinic have linked it to hyperactivity. More testing is needed.

Other possible alternatives to Red. No 3 under considerations by companies include carmine, which is made from an insect found in Central and South America; anthocyanins, a derivative of vegetables and fruit; and betacyanins, found in beetroots.

The Bottom Line

As always, consumers should be mindful when they’re looking at ingredients. “A lot of foods that are going to have this red dye are already processed. They’re going to be in cereals, snacks and sugar-laden beverages and those types of things,” said Beth Czerwony, RD, registered dietitian with Cleveland Clinic. “So, ultimately, those are things that we would want you to avoid or limit in your diets anyway.”