In a bombshell announcement made last week, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it will ban the use of FD&C Red No. 3, a synthetic food dye, from the nation’s food supply. The latest initiative comes more than three decades after the colorant was barred from cosmetics and non-oral medications due to potentially causing cancer.
“On January 15, 2025, the FDA issued an order to revoke these authorizations. Manufacturers who use FD&C Red No. 3 in food and ingested drugs will have until January 15, 2027, or January 18, 2028, respectively, to reformulate their products,” the agency said in a statement. “Consumers could see FD&C Red No. 3 as an ingredient in a food or drug product on the market past the effective date in the order if that product was manufactured before the effective date.”
