For more than 30 years, Red No. 3—a synthetic dye banned in cosmetics for its cancer risks—was still allowed in food and medication. Now, that long-standing contradiction is finally being resolved.
On Jan. 15, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned Red No. 3 from food and ingested drugs, pointing to animal studies that link the dye to cancer. This decision, rooted in the Delaney Clause, which prohibits cancer-causing additives, signals a growing concern about synthetic food dyes—even as debate continues over their actual risks to humans.
