The US Food and Drug Administration banned the color known as Red 3 from the country’s food supply in January, setting deadlines for removing glossy additives from sweets and cough syrup, ripe goods and frozen treatments.
The agency said it was taking action because studies found that color, also known as erythrosis, caused cancer in laboratories.
A federal statute requires FDA to stop any additions found to cause animal cancer, though officials emphasized that the way Red 3 leads to cancer in mice does not occur in humans.
However, color is just one of several synthetic colors that are widely found in ordinary foods and other products.
While their use is a question from experts and customers, here’s what you need to know:
What are the artificial colors?
Synthetic colors are oil -based chemicals that do not occur in nature.
They are widely used in the legs to “improve visual attraction” of products, according to sensitive food colors, a st. Louis -based supplier with food and flavoring color.
Nine colors, including Red 3, are allowed in US food.
The other common additional color in food are blue 1, blue 2, green 3, red 40, yellow 5 and yellow 6.
Two allowed colors are less commonly used: Citrus Red 2 and orange B.
FDA confirms synthetic color additives and regulates their use.
With the latest FDA order on Red 3, manufacturers have until January 2027 to remove the paint from their products. Spending drug manufacturers such as cough syrups have until January 2028.
Who worries about these colors and why?
Consumer lawyers, including the Center for Science in the Public Interest, had long lobbied to stop Red 3 from food due to mouse cancer.
Color was banned for decades in cosmetics, but not in food or swallowed medications.
Other research has linked artificial colors to behavioral problems in some children, including hyperactivity and impulsivity, especially for those who are at risk for disorder of attention deficit, or ADHD.
“Artificial colors are not the main cause of ADHD, but they can contribute in some cases,” said Dr. L. Eugene Arnold, a professor of psychiatry Emeritus at Ohio State University who studied color and their behavior effect and now advises Chadd, a support group for people with ADHD.
FDA says it has revised and evaluated the effects of color additives on children’s behavior.
He says its scientists believe that most children do not suffer any negative effects when consuming them, although it admits that some children may be sensitive to them.
About two chains of Americans favor the restriction or reformulation of processed foods to remove ingredients such as added sugar or color, according to a recent AP-NORC survey.
Will other colors be banned?
The moment is building for the removal of synthetic colors in foods.
Last year, California became the first state to stop six artificial food colors from food served in public schools.
More than a dozen state -owned legislature can receive invoices this year that would stop synthetic colors in food, whether for school lunches or in any environment.
In October, protesters demanded that WK Kellogg Co. Remove artificial colors from cereals such as Apple jacks and loops.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., recently confirmed as the Secretary of Health and Human Services of the US, campaigning with a promise to “make America again healthy”, including a focus on artificial colors and other chemicals in food.
His support was purchased by “Maha Moms”, women on social media demanding the completion of artificial ingredients and ultraprocessing in the supply of food in the US, among other concerts.
“I was called a conspiracy theorist because I said red coloring caused cancer,” Kennedy said during his confirmation session. “Now, the FDA has accepted it and stopped it.”
What about natural colors?
It is possible to add the color of foods with natural ingredients.
Some manufacturers have already reorganized products to remove red 3.
Instead, they use beet juice; Carmine, a paint made of insects; Or pigments from foods such as sweet purple potatoes, radish and red cabbage.
But it is complicated, said Meghan Skidmore, a sensitive spokesman.
Natural colors can be less durable than synthetic colors and can be affected by factors including heat and acid levels.
“It is not impossible to replace, but there is no single solution,” she said.
How can you avoid synthetic colors?
Because colors are so widely used, it can be difficult to find foods that do not contain color additives.
The best way to avoid colors is to read the ingredients’ labels, Arnold said.
“If the list is so long that you don’t want to worry about reading it and there are certainly things in it you can’t pronounce them, don’t buy them,” he said.
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