With the latest decision from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Canada stands out as a special case when it comes to the food additive known as Red 3, whose use in foods is also limited in Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
Joe Schwarcz of McGill University agreed with Health Canada that the evidence showing human safety concerns is insufficient, but he would still like to see the dye banned because he says it adds no nutritional value while making ultra-processed foods more attractive to consumers.
“The important question is: When you add something to a food, it has to be to provide some benefit, beyond making something more appealing,” said Mr. Schwarcz, director of the Organization for science and society from McGill University.
He said there are many natural alternatives without any fear of toxicity, such as beet juice extract and anthocyanins extracted from berries.
Also known as erythrosine or FD&C Red No. 3, the coloring is primarily used in treats, including candies, cakes, cookies and icings, to give foods and drinks a cherry red color.
The FDA banned the dye due to a cancer risk, noting that two studies showed it caused cancer in laboratory rats with a “rat-specific hormonal mechanism” that does not exist in humans.
She said the measure was a “matter of law” because a legal provision requires it to ban food additives known to cause cancer in humans or animals.
More studies needed
Waliul Khan, a scientist at McMaster University, says that while some effects in rats don’t necessarily translate to humans, he says it’s worth considering findings from animal studies that point to potential safety concerns for additives. which can be easily avoided.
“When there is new evidence that it is harmful – even in animals – why are we going to keep it in our food?” raised Mr. Khan, professor in the department of pathology and molecular medicine.
Mr Khan said he would like to see a warning label on foods containing synthetic dyes, also expressing concern about red dye number 40, sometimes labeled allura red.
He said an animal study he published in 2022 found that long-term consumption of allura red can potentially trigger inflammatory bowel disease.
“When we gave it continuously to a mouse for 12 weeks, it caused harmful effects in the gut and increased the severity of colitis. But when we gave it once a week, we didn’t see this serious effect,” Khan said.
“Of course, there should be more studies, potentially, on the human subject.”
Two other papers published in 2023 by researchers at the University of Guelph looked at how certain dyes break down in the gut, and found they could potentially lead to toxic byproducts.
Microbiologist Emma Allen-Vercoe, who participated in both studies, said in a statement that the studies call for updated regulations to account for how the compounds are metabolized.
Mr. Khan said he was studying the safety of other dyes and hoped the increased attention generated by the FDA’s ban on Red 3 would spur funding for more studies. He highlighted the difficulties associated with the cost of setting up a trial with a large sample, as well as the ethics of attempting to study a substance known to harm animals in humans.
Two different regulatory frameworks
Health Canada is also departing from the FDA in allowing Red 3 in cosmetics – the FDA banned it from use in makeup in 1990 due to a study that found it caused cancer when used was ingested by rats.
Mr Schwarcz attributes this to two very different regulatory systems, insisting that “there is actually no evidence that it would pose a danger to humans”.
Health Canada said that if new scientific data reveals a risk to human health related to the use of the coloring in foods or drugs, it would take action, “including, if necessary, no longer allowing its use as a coloring in foods and medicines.
He described the FDA ban as a “legal requirement” triggered by the two rat studies.
“Studies in other animals and humans have not shown these effects, and claims that the use of this coloring in food endangers human health are not supported by the available scientific evidence “, he said in a press release sent by email early Wednesday evening.
Health Canada said it reviewed a safety assessment conducted by a joint committee of the United Nations and the World Health Organization in 2018. The joint UN/WHO committee looked at studies involving humans and animals and found no safety concerns for the coloring as a food additive.
