Why hasn’t the FDA banned Red 40 and is it safe? What we know amid Red dye 3 ban over health concerns

The Food and Drug Administration is looking back at the food dyes that are used in many products and recently put a ban on Red dye 3 over health concerns. Following the ban, questions about the safety of Red dye 40, also called Red 40, have emerged. After being questioned, the FDA has addressed the concern.

According to a report by CBS, the FDA has not yet reevaluated Red 40 to know whether it is safe to consume for over a decade. As there have been emerging concerns about the potential health effects of the dye, the agency is all set to take a second look at some additives that were approved years back.

Amid the discussion, Jim Jones, FDA's deputy commissioner for human foods mentioned at a hearing of the Senate's health committee that the agency does not have enough budget to catch up with their European and Canadian counterparts. Moreover, it would take them years to do the same.

"We are several decades behind Europeans and our Canadian counterparts, because they have legal mandates to reevaluate chemicals that have been authorized," Jones said.

The controversy over synthetic food dyes is decades old. It reportedly garnered attention again when Robert F Kennedy Jr, Donald Trump's pick to lead the department under which the FDA and other agencies related to health come, openly criticized it.

For the unversed, the food dye Red 40 was first registered by the health agency in the 1970s. The chemical used in the dye is called Allure Red AC but it is now usually synthesized from petroleum. Further, when more chemical reactions are added to the process, another dye is made called Red 40 Lake which is used in chewing gums.

Why did the FDA ban Red dye 3?

During Jim Jones' conversation with Tommy Tuberville, the latter asked the FDA official about Red dye 3. In his reply, Jones confirmed that the agency is banning the food dye. What resulted in the ban was a petition by advocacy groups in which they shared studies that showed the dye causes cancer in animals.

About 24 food safety and health advocates urged the agency to ban the dye that was being used to give a bright red color to candles, maraschino cherries, and snack cakes.

On Wednesday, according to the Associated Press, US regulators banned Red Dye 3 from the country's food supply. The dye has been used in products in the market for about 35 years.

FDA confirmed it was banning Red Dye 3 as a "matter of law" as the dye allegedly caused cancer in lab rats.