The RFK effect? FDA announces ban on red food dye over cancer concerns

The Food and Drug Administration announced a ban on the use of Red No. 3, a dye used in thousands of food products that had been approved for over a hundred years but is linked to cancer.

The decision comes days before the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, who has nominated Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as his health and human services secretary. Kennedy has long criticized artificial additives in the U.S. food supply.

'The FDA cannot authorize a food additive or color additive if it has been found to cause cancer in human or animals.'

The dye was first approved for use in foods in 1907, but a study in the 1980s found that ingesting high dosages led to higher incidence of cancer in laboratory rats. Environmentalists have called for its ban for decades while critics of the efforts say they're just another example of government overreach.

"The FDA cannot authorize a food additive or color additive if it has been found to cause cancer in human or animals," read a statement from FDA deputy director for human foods Jim Jones. "Evidence shows cancer in laboratory male rats exposed to high levels of FD&C Red No. 3."

The dye has been banned in Australia, Japan, and in some countries in the European Union.

“At long last, the FDA is ending the regulatory paradox of Red 3 being illegal for use in lipstick, but perfectly legal to feed to children in the form of candy,” said Dr. Peter Lurie, president of the Center for Science in the Public Interest. The additive was banned for use in cosmetics in 1990.

The red dye ban so close to the inauguration led some to accuse the administration of trying to undermine the efforts of RFK Jr. in order to take credit for his efforts before he can get into the office.

Democrats in California had previously penned legislation banning additives, including Red No. 3, in food products.

"We know they are harmful and that children are likely eating more of these chemicals than adults," said Susan Little of the Environmental Working Group in 2023. "It makes no sense that the same products food manufacturers sell in California are sold in the EU but without these toxic chemicals."

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