Artificial red food dye, the coloring used in drinks, snacks, candy and cereal, could soon be banned. Jim Jones, the FDA’s deputy commissioner for human foods, addressed the possible change when he spoke at the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee meeting on Thursday.
Jones said it has been more than 10 years since red food dye has been evaluated for safety. The deputy added that the FDA is now reviewing a petition to ban Red No. 3, a substance made from petroleum, which adds a red color to food and beverage, per NBC News.
“We’re hopeful that in the next few weeks we’ll be acting on that petition,” Jones said, according to NBC News.
Frank Pallone Jr., House Energy and Commerce Committee ranking member, is also advocating for the ban of Red No. 3. Pallone said it’s especially important to be aware of the ingredient during the holiday season as it stays hidden in sweets which are mainly consumed by children.
“While food companies must ensure that the food they market is safe, they are also only required to ensure that their products meet FDA’s standards,” Pallone said, per NBC News. “This means that thousands of products that contain this chemical can remain on the market.”
Three states have already introduced or passed legislation in the past year to ban some color additives. The California School Food Safety Act, passed in 2023, bans six of nine artificial food dyes approved by the FDA. The six colorings which will be banned at California public schools by the year 2027 are Red No. 40, Yellow No. 5, Yellow No. 6, Blue No. 1, Blue No. 2 and Green No. 3.
It’s also a similar situation in Illinois and New York, where law makers have introduced legislation to ban Red No. 40.
In 2021, the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment published a report on how food coloring affects human health. The study concluded that “consumption of synthetic food dyes can result in hyperactivity and other neurobehavioral problems in some children, and that children vary in their sensitivity to synthetic food dyes.”
Thomas Galligan, principal scientist for food additives and supplements at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, also said there is clear evidence on the effects of food coloring.
“The evidence now shows pretty conclusively that when some kids eat these, they will experience nervous system effects that look like ADHD,” Galligan said, per NBC News. “There are 27 human clinical trials that show these dyes do in fact harm children’s behavior.”
Jerold Mande, an adjunct nutrition professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said more research is still needed to understand the full effect of food coloring.
“We really don’t have the science we should have so these things are a little unclear, but these dyes and behavioral issues, there is an established connection,” Mande told NBC News.
