Health
FDA bans red food dye due to potential cancer risk
FDA looks to ban red food dye
Celebrity fitness trainer Jillian Michaels joins ‘Hannity’ to discuss the possibility of the FDA banning red food dye.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has officially banned red dye — called Red 3, or Erythrosine — from foods, dietary supplements and ingested medicines, as reported by the Associated Press on Wednesday.
Food manufacturers must remove the dye from their products by January 2027, while drug manufacturers will have until January 2028 to do so, AP stated.
Any foods imported into the U.S. from other countries will also be subject to the new regulation.
RED FOOD DYE COULD SOON BE BANNED AS FDA REVIEWS PETITION
“The FDA is taking action that will remove the authorization for the use of FD&C Red No. 3 in food and ingested drugs,” said Jim Jones, the FDA’s deputy commissioner for human foods, in a statement.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has officially banned red dye — called Red 3, or Erythrosine — from foods, dietary supplements and ingested medicines (iStock)
“Evidence shows cancer in laboratory male rats exposed to high levels of FD&C Red No.3,” he continued. “Importantly, the way that FD&C Red No. 3 causes cancer in male rats does not occur in humans.”
The synthetic dye, which is made from petroleum, is used as a color additive in food and ingested drugs to give them a “bright cherry-red color,” according to an online statement from the FDA.
Food manufacturers must remove the dye from their products by January 2027, while drug manufacturers will have until January 2028 to do so. (iStock)
The petition to ban the dye cited the Delaney Clause, which states that the agency cannot classify a color additive as safe if it has been found to induce cancer in humans or animals.
The dye was removed from cosmetics nearly 35 years ago due to potential cancer risk.
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“This is a welcome, but long overdue, action from the FDA: removing the unsustainable double standard in which Red 3 was banned from lipstick but permitted in candy,” said Dr. Peter Lurie, director of the group Center for Science in the Public Interest, which led the petition effort, as reported by AP.
Nearly 3,000 foods are shown to contain Red No. 3, according to Food Scores, a database of foods compiled by the Environmental Working Group. (iStock)
Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Health and Fox News senior medical analyst, applauded the FDA’s ban.
“It was a long time coming,” he told Fox News Digital. “It’s been more than 30 years since it was banned from cosmetics in the U.S. due to evidence that it is carcinogenic in high doses in lab rats. There needs to be a consistency between what we put on our skin and what we put into our mouths.”
“There needs to be a consistency between what we put on our skin and what we put into our mouths.”
Siegel said he believes the FDA’s decision could be tied to the incoming new head of the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
“They knew it would have happened anyway under RFK Jr.,” he said. “It is already banned or severely restricted in Australia, Japan and the European Union.”
The food additive also “drew kids in” to a diet of empty calories and ultraprocessed foods, one doctor stated. (iStock)
The food additive also “drew kids in” to a diet of empty calories and ultraprocessed foods, Siegel added.
“It has also been linked to behavioral issues in children, including ADHD.”
Nearly 3,000 foods are shown to contain Red No. 3, according to Food Scores, a database of foods compiled by the Environmental Working Group.
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The National Confectioners Association provided the below statement to Fox News Digital.
“Food safety is the number one priority for U.S. confectionery companies, and we will continue to follow and comply with FDA’s guidance and safety standards.”
The petition to remove Red No. 3 from foods, supplements and medications was presented in 2022 by the Center for Science in the Public Interest and 23 other organizations and scientists.
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More than 59% of women may have high blood pressure by 2050, according to a new report from the American Heart Association.
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A new report by the American Heart Association (AHA) included some troubling predictions for the future of women’s health.
The forecast, published in the journal Circulation on Wednesday, projected increases in various comorbidities in American females by 2050.
More than 59% of women were predicted to have high blood pressure, up from less than 49% currently.
The review also projected that more than 25% of women will have diabetes, compared to about 15% today, and more than 61% will have obesity, compared to 44% currently.
As a result of these risk factors, the prevalence of cardiovascular disease and stroke is expected to rise to 14.4% from 10.7%.
The prevalence of cardiovascular disease and stroke in women is expected to rise to 14.4% from 10.7% by 2050. (iStock)
Not all trends were negative, as unhealthy cholesterol prevalence is expected to drop to about 22% from more than 42% today, the report stated.
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Dr. Elizabeth Klodas, a cardiologist and founder of Step One Foods in Minnesota, commented on these “jarring findings.”
“The fact that on our current trajectory, cardiometabolic disease is projected to explode in women within one generation should be a huge wake-up call,” she told Fox News Digital.
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“Hypertension, diabetes, obesity — these are all major risk factors for heart disease, and we are already seeing what those risks are driving. Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women, eclipsing all other causes of death, including breast cancer.”
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for women in the U.S. and around the world. (iStock)
Klodas warned that heart disease starts early, progresses “stealthily,” and can present “out of the blue in devastating ways.”
The AHA published another study on Thursday revealing one million hospitalizations, showing that heart attack deaths are climbing among adults below the age of 55.
The more alarming finding, according to Klodas, is that young women were found more likely to die after their first heart attack than men of the same age.
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“This is all especially tragic since heart disease is almost entirely preventable,” she said. “The earlier you start, the better.”
Children can show early evidence of plaque deposition in their arteries, which can be reversed through lifestyle changes if “undertaken early enough and aggressively enough,” according to the expert.
Moving more is one part of protecting a healthy heart, according to experts. (iStock)
Klodas suggested that rising heart conditions are associated with traditional risk factors, like smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity and a sedentary lifestyle.
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Doctors are also seeing higher rates of preeclampsia, or high blood pressure during pregnancy, as well as gestational diabetes. Klodas noted that these are sex-specific risk factors that don’t typically contribute to complications until after menopause.
The best way to protect a healthy heart is to “do the basics,” Klodas recommended, including the following lifestyle habits.
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Klodas especially emphasized making improvements to diet, as the food people eat affects “every single risk factor that the AHA’s report highlights.”
“High blood pressure, high blood sugar, high cholesterol, excess weight – these are all conditions that are driven in part or in whole by food,” she said. “We eat multiple times every single day, which means what we eat has profound cumulative effects over time.”
“Even a small improvement in dietary intake, when maintained, can have a massive positive impact on health,” a doctor said. (iStock)
“Even a small improvement in dietary intake, when maintained, can have a massive positive impact on health.”
The doctor also recommends changing out a few snacks per day for healthier choices, which has been proven to “yield medication-level cholesterol reductions” in a month.
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“Keep up that small change and, over the course of a year, you could also lose 20 pounds and reduce your sodium intake enough to avoid blood pressure-lowering medications,” Klodas added.
“Women should not view the AHA report as inevitable. We have power over our health destinies. We just need to use it.”
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