U.S. regulators on Wednesday banned a dye called Red 3 from the nation’s food supply, nearly 35 years after it was banned from cosmetics because of a potential cancer risk.

Food and Drug Administration officials approved a 2022 petition filed by two dozen food safety and health advocates who urged the agency to revoke authorization for the substance that turns some candies, snack cakes and maraschino cherries bright red. Gives color.

The agency said it was taking action as a “matter of law” because some studies had shown the dye caused cancer in lab rats. Officials cited a statute called the Delaney Clause, which requires the FDA to ban any additive known to cause cancer in people or animals.

The dye is known as erythrosin, FD&C Red No. 3, or Red 3. The ban removes it from the list of approved color additives in foods, dietary supplements and oral medications such as cough medicines. More than three decades ago, the FDA refused to authorize the use of RAD3 in cosmetics and externally applied drugs because a study showed it caused cancer when ingested by rats. Is.

Jim Jones, FDA’s deputy commissioner for human foods, said, “FDA is taking action that will remove authorization for the use of FD&C Red No. 3 in food and ingested drugs.” “Evidence shows that cancer occurs in male laboratory rats exposed to high levels of FD&C Red No. 3. Importantly, the way in which FD&C Red No. 3 causes cancer in male rats It is possible, but it is not found in humans.”

Food manufacturers will have until January 2027 to remove the dye from their products, while makers of oral medications will have until January 2028 to do so. Other countries still allow some use of dyes, but imported foods must meet the new US requirement.

Consumer advocates praised the decision.

Dr. Peter Lurie, director of the group’s Center for Science in the Public, said, “This is a welcome, but long-awaited action from the FDA: removing the unsustainable double standard that led to Red 3 being banned from lipstick But permission was given in Kandy.” Ruchi, who led the petition effort.

It is unclear whether the ban will face legal challenges from food manufacturers because the evidence has not determined that the dye causes cancer when consumed by humans. At a hearing in December, FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf suggested that this is a risk.

“When we ban something, it will go to court,” he told members of Congress on December 5. And if we don’t have scientific evidence, we will lose in court.

When the FDA refused to allow Red 3 in cosmetics and topical medications in 1990, the color additive was already permitted in foods and oral medications. Because research showed that the way the dye causes cancer in rats does not apply to humans, “FDA did not take action to revoke the authorization of Red No. 3 in food,” the agency said on its website. But it is said.

For years, health advocates have asked the FDA to reconsider that decision, including a 2022 petition led by CSPI. In November, nearly two dozen members of Congress sent a letter demanding that FDA officials ban Raid 3.

Lawmakers cited the Delaney Clause and said the action was especially important to protect children, who consume more dye on a body weight basis than adults.

“The FDA must take immediate action to protect the nation’s youth from this harmful dye, which is used only to give food and drinks a bright red color,” the letter said. “No aesthetic reason can justify the use of a carcinogen in our food supply”.

Red 3 is banned for use in food in Europe, Australia and New Zealand except for certain types of cherries. The dye will be banned in California starting in January 2027.

The International Association of Color Manufacturers defends the dye, saying it is safe in levels typically consumed by humans. The group points to research from scientific committees run by the United Nations and the World Health Organization, including a 2018 review that confirmed the safety of Red 3 in food.

Some food manufacturers have already reformulated products to remove Raid 3. Instead they use beetroot juice; carmine, a dye made from insects; And pigments from foods like purple sweet potatoes, radishes and red cabbage, according to Sensient Food Colors, a St. Louis-based supplier of food colors and flavors.