Red Dye #3

In January of 2025, the Biden administration banned the use of Red Dye #3 in all food and drugs in the United States.  

This is a synthetic dye that is (was) used to make a cherry red coloring in many products, including candy, baked goods, frozen desserts, frosting, certain pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics.  Its use in cosmetics was banned in the 1990s with one notable exception, lipstick.  Through the years, the issue of the dye’s safety in food has experienced a checkered history.

In 1987, a toxicologist found that rats grow tumors in the thyroid gland when given huge amounts of the red dye.  Ever since, concerned scientists have petitioned the Federal Food and Drug Administration to proscribe its use entirely, citing the Delaney Clause in the Food Additives Amendment of 1958.  This provision prohibits the FDA from approving any food additive that has been found to induce cancer in humans or animals.  

The scientist who conducted the study of 1987 (industry funded) is appalled that his work has been used to discredit the use of the red dye.  He points out that his research a) studied doses of the dye that are not close to what humans get when ingesting food with the chemical, and that b) the rats in his study did not get cancer–they got benign tumors.  To this day, he asserts that Red Dye #3 is a safe additive in foods.

The federal Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition has agreed, stating that the risk of developing cancer from the low levels of consumed is unlikely.  

Red Dye #40 is now being used as one of the substitutes for #3.  Some studies have shown, however, an association of this additive with an adult-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and behavioural problems in children.

There are natural alternatives to making food look more attractive, for instance beet juice.  There are also many other synthetic dyes used for coloring food, but the safety of these substances is unknown.  Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F Kennedy, Jr., wants all artificial food dyes eliminated.

Fluoride

Fluoridation of public drinking water in the US began in the mid-1940s.  This has resulted in a consistent decrease in cavities by about 25%, and it has been especially helpful in populations with limited access to dental care.  75% percent of Americans now drink water that is fluoridated.  The United States Public Health Service recommends a level of fluoride in drinking water of .7 mg/liter, with 2 mg/liter being the maximum level allowable.

There is scientific consensus that water fluoridation is a safe, effective, equitable way to improve oral health.  Many assert that it is one of the most important public health interventions in the last century.  The city of Calgary in Canada stopped fluoridation in 2011, and this resulted in a dramatic increase in cavities in children.  

Nevertheless, there are naysayers, including Secretary Kennedy.  Fluoride occurs naturally in water, and in countries with high levels and no control of public water systems, fluoridation of public drinking water should not be undertaken.  In fact, a study from China associates fluoridation with low IQ, but China generally has high natural levels of fluoride in drinking water.  Studies from western scientists have not been able to replicate the China study, the methods for which are highly questionable.  

One important side effect of fluoridation is important—long term exposure to fluoride levels of 4 mg/liter or more can result in weakening of the bones.  These levels do not exist in developed countries.

Utah just became the first state to ban the use of fluoride in public water.  

What is Safe

I am not an expert in the above, and I need to rely on informed opinion about the safety of food additives and fluoridation.  But regulation of these matters has not been a paradigm of logic and consistency.  Why, for instance, did it take the FDA 38 years to implement the Delaney Clause and proscribe Red Dye #3 for all food?  And why, when the use of the dye was interdicted in cosmetics in the early 1990s, was lipstick exempted ?!

One thing seems clear:  too much of anything can be harmful.  Take water.  There is a medical condition called psychogenic polydipsia.  Afflicted individuals have an unconquerable urge to drink water–gallons and gallons per day.  These unfortunate people lack the normal physiological feedback loop that tells the brain enough is enough.  Ingesting enough water  can lower sodium levels in the blood to dangerous levels.  Seizures, coma and death occur with extremely low levels of sodium.

“Moderation in All Things” is not just a platitude.