The Science Behind The FDA Ban On Food Dye Red No. 3

Short Wave

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4.7 • 6K Ratings

🗓️ 20 January 2025

⏱️ 11 minutes

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Summary

On Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration announced it is banning the dye called Red No. 3, a food dye additive in many processed foods, like sodas, sweets and snacks. Recently, it and other dyes were linked to behavior issues in children. But high levels of Red No. 3 were linked to cancer in rats decades ago. So why is the ban happening now?

Senior editor and science desk correspondent Maria Godoy answers our questions about Red No. 3 and other dyes that may replace it. Plus, how should parents think about feeding their kids products that may contain Red No. 3 before the ban takes affect.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	What's in store for the music, TV, and film industries for 2025? We don't know, but we're making some fun, bold predictions for the new year.
0:09.5	Listen now to the Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast from NPR.
0:14.3	You're listening to Shortwave from NPR.
0:19.6	Hey, shortwivers.
0:26.1	Emily Kwong here with the lovely Maria Godoy, senior editor and correspondent with the NPR Science Desk.
0:26.4	Hey, Maria.
0:27.3	Hey, Emily.
0:33.1	You are here to walk me through an announcement from the Food and Drug Administration that happened Wednesday.
0:34.3	That's like a pretty big deal.
0:39.2	Yeah, so they announced that they're banning the food dye red number three or in FDA terms.
0:41.3	That's revoking authorization.
0:42.4	Very official.
0:46.9	Red dye number three, of course, is a very widely used food dye.
0:48.6	It's been authorized for decades. For half a century, actually.
0:50.7	And it's in thousands of products.
0:52.6	It's a petroleum-based dye that's in everything from candy to all sorts of snack foods, and so does too, because it gives products this very bright, cherry-red color.
1:02.5	And in 2002, a petition was filed with the FDA to ban the dye.
1:07.1	So the FDA has been reviewing the petition and the evidence ever since in an effort to
1:12.5	comply with a provision from a 1958 law known as the Delaney Clause. What is the Delaney Clause?
1:18.1	So it's part of a series of laws that were passed following hearings in the early 1950s by
1:23.0	Representative James Delaney. This one targets food additives. And it says specifically no food additive can be authorized if it's been found to cause cancer.
1:34.4	So today on the show, red dye number three.
	...

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