Red Dye No. 3

Red Dye No. 3, also called FD&C Red No. 3 or erythrosine, is being banned from food in the United States. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) revoked its approval on 15 January 2025, and food makers must stop using it by 15 January 2027.

Key facts

• Status: approval revoked; still allowed in food until the 2027 deadline
• FDA order: 15 January 2025
• Food deadline: 15 January 2027
• Ingested drugs deadline: 18 January 2028
• California ban: 1 January 2027

What is Red Dye No. 3 used in?

Red No. 3 is a synthetic dye that gives foods a bright cherry-pink colour. It has been used in sweets, cake decorations, frostings, some fruit products and certain medicines.

Why is the US banning Red Dye No. 3?

The FDA acted under the Delaney Clause, a 1958 rule that bars approval of any food additive shown to cause cancer in humans or animals. Studies found that high doses caused cancer in male rats. The FDA has said the effect works through a mechanism specific to rats and that typical human exposure is much lower, but the law left it no choice once a petition asked it to apply the clause.

Red No. 3 had already been banned from cosmetics and externally applied drugs since 1990, which made its continued use in food a long-running point of criticism.

Is Red Dye No. 3 banned now?

Not fully. Until the January 2027 deadline, products made with Red No. 3 can still legally be sold, although the FDA has urged companies to remove it sooner. California’s own ban, passed in October 2023 as part of the California Food Safety Act, starts on 1 January 2027, and several states have passed separate bans on the dye in school food.

The same California law also covers brominated vegetable oil (BVO), which the FDA banned nationwide first. For older US food bans, see why Kinder Surprise eggs are illegal or the full Food & Drink list.

General information, not medical advice.