The American authorities announced on Wednesday that they would ban the use in foodstuffs and medicines of a controversial red dye, known for more than 30 years to cause cancer in animals, a major victory for consumer associations.
Named erythrosine, this synthetic dye created from petroleum is also known under the name E127 in Europe and “Red 3” in North America. It is used to give food or medicine capsules a pink to bright red appearance.
It has so far been found in around 3,000 food products marketed in the United States, according to the database of the environmental association EWG: candies, canned fruit, drinks and even a vegetarian substitute for bacon.
The American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) “revokes the authorization for the use of Red 3 in food and ingested medications,” it is specified in an official document published Wednesday.
This dye could already not be used in the United States in cosmetics and medicines directly applied to the skin since 1990 due to allergy risks and suspicions of its carcinogenic nature, after studies showed that it caused cancers in rodents.
Elsewhere in the world, several countries, notably those in the European Union, very severely restrict its use.
American consumer associations filed a request with the FDA in 2022 to ban this additive in food products and orally administered medications.
A request to which the authorities have therefore decided to respond favorably.
