Red dye 3: why the FDA revoked it, and what changes in 2027

Red dye 3 — FD&C Red No. 3, called erythrosine or E127 outside the United States — is a synthetic pink-red food colour whose US authorisation the FDA has revoked: for food from 15 January 2027, for ingested drugs from 18 January 2028. The order rests on the Delaney Clause, triggered by cancer in male rats.

Until those dates it remains a listed colour, which is why it can still appear on a US label today. This page sets out what the order says, the dates that are easy to confuse, and the names the colour goes by on a package.

Why was red dye 3 banned?

The FDA revoked red dye 3 as a matter of law. The Delaney Clause of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act deems a colour additive unsafe under certain circumstances, and a 2022 petition cited two studies showing cancer in laboratory male rats exposed to high levels of the dye. The order follows from that finding, not from a new estimate of risk to people.

The FDA’s notice is explicit about the distinction. It states that the way red dye 3 causes cancer in male rats does not occur in humans, that relevant human exposure is typically much lower than in those studies, and that studies in other animals and in humans did not show the effects.

The revocation is a legal consequence of the rat finding. The agency’s own position is that the mechanism behind it does not occur in humans — both statements sit in the same notice.

When the red dye 3 ban takes effect

Four documents and six dates are involved, and news coverage tends to merge them into one. The table puts them in order.

Until mid-January 2027 the federal regulation still reads as a listing: 21 CFR 74.303 permits the colour for coloring foods generally, except in foods with standards of identity unless those standards allow added colour. California’s law starts two weeks earlier and carries civil penalties of up to $5,000 for a first violation and $10,000 for each one after.

Is red dye 3 the same as Red 40?

Red dye 3 and Red 40 are different colour additives. Red 3 is erythrosine, E127 in Europe; Red 40 is Allura Red AC, E129. The January 2025 order covers red dye 3 alone, so a label that lists Red 40 is untouched by it — what the Red 40 rules say covers that colour. Yellow 5 is in the same position as Red 40: still listed, and named in the FDA’s April 2025 request to industry rather than in a revocation order.

Where red dye 3 is still allowed

The FDA notes that other countries still allow certain uses of the colour. That is the practical reason to know its European names: an imported product may print erythrosine or E127 rather than the US name.

How to find red dye 3 on an ingredient label

The ultra-processed food checker matches all four names to a single entry and shows the regulatory note beside the match, so a pasted label returns the dates above rather than a bare flag.

1. Step 1

   Look for every name

   The colour appears as Red 3, FD&C Red No. 3 or erythrosine, and as E127 on European packaging. All four point to the same colour additive.

2. Step 2

   Read the end of the list

   Colours are usually declared among the last ingredients, often after a phrase such as contains 2% or less of. Scanning the first few ingredients will miss them.

3. Step 3

   Treat imports separately

   Sweets and preserved cherries from abroad may carry the European names. Check for erythrosine and E127 as well as the US name.

What this page does not tell you

This page reports what regulators have decided and when. It does not assess what red dye 3 does in any one person, and a clinician is the right person for a diagnosed reaction or a child’s restricted diet. The rules this site follows for food claims are set out in our food methodology, and the other colours and additives are collected in the food additive guides.