The outgoing administration of U.S. President Joe Biden introduced on Wednesday a ban on Red Dye No. 3, a controversial meals and drug coloring linked to most cancers in animals.
Decades after scientific proof first raised alarm, Red 3, as additionally it is referred to as, is presently utilized in almost 3,000 meals merchandise within the United States, based on the nonprofit Environmental Working Group.
“FDA is revoking the authorized uses in food and ingested drugs of FD&C Red No 3 in the color additive regulations,” mentioned a doc from the Department of Health and Human Services, revealed within the Federal Register on Wednesday.
The choice follows a petition filed in November 2022 by the Center for Science within the Public Interest (CSPI) and different advocacy teams, which cited the “Delaney Clause” — a provision mandating the prohibition of any coloration additive proven to trigger most cancers in people or animals.
Notably, the FDA decided as early as 1990 that Red 3 ought to be banned in cosmetics due to its hyperlink to thyroid most cancers in lab rats.
However, the additive continued for use in meals, largely because of resistance from the meals trade. Manufacturers of maraschino cherries, for instance, relied on Red 3 to take care of the long-lasting pink hue of their merchandise.
It’s additionally current in 1000’s of candies, snacks and fruit merchandise.
The United States is among the final main economies to take motion on the dye. The European Union prohibited its use in 1994, with comparable bans carried out in Japan, China, the U.Ok., Australia and New Zealand.
CSPI hailed the choice as overdue and expressed hope it might result in additional motion in opposition to different doubtlessly dangerous chemical substances in meals.
“They don’t add any nutritional value, they don’t preserve the food — they’re just there to make food look pretty,” Thomas Galligan, a scientist with CSPI, advised AFP.
“There’s growing discussion across the political spectrum about food additives and chemicals, which reflects ongoing failures by the FDA.”
Source: www.dailysabah.com