Say Goodbye to Bright Reds: The FDA Red Dye No. 3 Ban Targets Pez, Betty Crocker, and More

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has just banned Red Dye No. 3, a bright, cherry-red dye that is used in thousands of different processed food and drink products due to concerns it could be linked to cancer. Red Dye No. 3 is in everything from Pez candies to flavored milk—here’s more about what the experts are saying and which products should be affected.

Why has the FDA banned red food dye?

According to researchers, when rats were given Red Dye No. 3–which was banned from the cosmetics and topical drugs market back in the 1990s–they started to grow thyroid tumors. 

This led to serious concerns about the potential carcinogenicity of the many food products on the market that contain the additive. In October 2022, for example, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), along with 23 other organizations and prominent scientists, submitted a petition to the FDA requesting a ban on the use of Red Dye No. 3.

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The ban was finally announced on January 16, 2025, and will go into effect in January 2027. The move follows a statewide ban on Red No. 3 (and other food additives like potassium bromate, brominated vegetable oil, and propylparaben) in California, which was passed in 2023.

“Today’s action by FDA is long overdue,” Jerold Mande, adjunct professor of nutrition at the Harvard University T.H. Chan School of Public Health, told CNN. “[It] is a small step in the right direction, and hopefully signals a renewed effort by FDA to do its job despite the many barriers the food industry places in its way.”

However, it’s important to note that, aside from being unethical in the view of many experts, animal studies are not always reliable. This is because the bodies of animals like rats, mice, and rabbits are very different from the bodies of humans. 

“Animal tests are accepted because they have been used for decades, not because they have demonstrated their value,” Elizabeth Baker, Esq., director of research policy for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), told VegNews in 2023. “When put to the test, animal experiments continue to fail.”

There are currently no human-based studies that link Red Dye No. 3 with cancer. However, the FDA is mandated to keep ingredients from the market even if they are linked with cancer solely through animal studies.

“The FDA is taking action that will remove the authorization for the use of FD&C Red No. 3 in food and ingested drugs,” Jim Jones, the FDA’s deputy commissioner for human foods, said in a statement about the new ban. “Evidence shows cancer in laboratory male rats exposed to high levels of FD&C Red No.3. Importantly, the way that FD&C Red No. 3 causes cancer in male rats does not occur in humans.”

Which foods are affected by the new ban?

The FDA’s new ban will impact thousands of products on the market. Many candy brands, for example, rely on Red Dye No. 3 to produce bright red or pink colors.

Pez Candy Assorted Fruit, Jelly Bellys, Betty Crocker’s Fruit by the Foot, Dubble Bubble Original Twist Bubble Gum, and Brach’s Candy Corn are a few of the products that will be affected by the new ban. The ban will also apply to many strawberry-flavored milk products, baked goods with red icing, ice pops, fruit cocktails, and even Maraschino cherries, which are artificially dyed to make them bright red.

Fruit by the Foot

It will also impact medicinal products that use food dyes, including vitamin gummies and cough syrups, for example.

Some of the impacted brands have already started to change their recipes. “Ferrara’s roadmap to phase out the use of Red No. 3 began in early 2023,” a spokesperson for Brach’s parent company, Ferrara, told Newsweek.

They added: “Brach’s Candy Corn candy shipping for the Fall 2025 season will not contain Red No. 3, and we are on track to eliminate the food coloring from the remaining products by the end of 2026.”

Activist organization Environmental Working Group—which is committed to raising awareness about harmful chemicals, toxic substances, agricultural practices, and corporate accountability—labeled the FDA’s ban as a “monumental victory.” 

The organization’s President, Ken Cook, said in a statement: “This ban sends a strong message that protecting the health of Americans – especially vulnerable children – must always take priority over the narrow interests of the food industry.”