NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — What color is the food or the beverage you're drinking? There's one color it turns out, you probably want to avoid.
Red! Think red punch! Red candy like licorice and candy hearts. And what makes them red often is a food coloring called red #3 dye.
While the dye gives these products a nice vibrant color, it can also cause potentially dangerous health concerns.
“Red No. 3 dye, also known as Erythrosine, is a synthetic dye derived from petroleum, and is used in food and drinks to give them a kind of bright cherry-red color," said Consumer Reports' Lauren Kirchner.
Decades ago the Food and Drug Administration banned Red No. 3 dye from all cosmetics after studies showed it caused cancer in lab animals.
Yet the dye is still lurking in thousands of varieties of candies, gummies, cakes, beverages and even medicines.
“So, how is it possible that this coloring is banned in makeup but not from the candy that many of our children could be eating?!” Kirchner asked.
That’s why last October, Consumer Reports along with more than 20 other advocacy groups signed a petition from the Center for Science in the public interest to ask the FDA to prohibit the use of Red No.3 dye in foods, dietary supplements and ingested drugs.
Besides the potential cancer risk, some studies show concerns that artificial food dyes, including red number 3, contribute to children’s neurobehavioral problems, such as hyperactivity.
The International Association of Color Manufacturers, an industry trade group, tells Consumer Reports that there is not enough evidence associating the dye with behavioral problems, and maintains it is safe at the levels most people consume.
The FDA requires manufacturers to list Red #3 dye on the label.
