When was the last time you thought about food regulation? The likelihood is, not recently - unless, of course, work in the food industry. But last month, the US Food & Drug Administration banned the use of the controversial red dye 3 food additive in (most) foods, and it got us thinking: what is red dye 3, and why has it been banned now? And - more importantly - who decides what is (and isn't) in our food?
A bit of background, first. Red dye 3 has been prohibited for use in cosmetics in the US since 1990 over concerns that it can cause cancer. Research (such as this study, published in the International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health) shows that the colouring causes cancer in animals, although the causal link to human cancers is yet to be established.
