The U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned the dye known as Red 3 from the nation’s food supply in January, setting deadlines for stripping the brightly hued additive from candies and cough syrup, baked goods and frozen treats.
The agency said it was taking the action because studies found that the dye, also known as erythrosine, caused cancer in lab rats. A federal statute requires FDA to ban any additive found to cause cancer in animals, though officials stressed that the way Red 3 leads to cancer in rats doesn’t happen in people.
