Podcast: Why Everybody Is Wrong About Food Dyes

By Cameron English and ChuckDinerstein — Mar 11, 2025

During the recent battle over FDA's decision ban the use of Red No. 3 in food and ingested drugs, few commentators answered a fundamental question: why do food makers use dyes in the first place? The press framed the answer as a corporate ploy to sell more candy, but the story's a bit more complicated than that. Let's take a closer look.

Image via Pixabay

Join Cameron English and Dr. Chuck Dinerstein on Episode 105 of the Science Dispatch podcast as they discuss:

Red Dye #3: Bad Law Defeats Fact

On January 16, the FDA banned the use of red dye #3 in food and ingested drugs, stating that it causes cancer in male rats but not in humans. This is being hailed as a victory for the Healthy Foods Movement. Red dye #3 is being banned because of an outdated law, the Delaney Clause, which needs to be amended or repealed.

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Cameron English

Director of Bioscience

Cameron English is a writer, editor and co-host of the Science Facts and Fallacies Podcast. Before joining ACSH, he was managing editor at the Genetic Literacy Project.