PRESS RELEASE: Popular Peeps Easter candy is made with cancer-causing Red Dye 3

[Mary Wilson]

April 3, 2023

YONKERS, NY – Consumer Reports is alerting consumers that the purple and pink Peeps candies popular this time of the year for Easter are made with Red Dye No. 3, a known carcinogen.

... “Parents should know that the purple and pink colored Peeps they may be putting in their kids’ Easter basket are made with an ingredient that is a known carcinogen,” said Michael Hansen, PhD, senior staff scientist for Consumer Reports.

Despite the health concerns about Red Dye 3, the ingredient is found in Peeps Pink Marshmallow Chicks, Peeps Pink Marshmallow Bunnies, Peeps Lavender Marshmallow Chicks, and Peeps Lavender Marshmallow Bunnies. Red Dye 3 is also found in other products made by the company, including Hot Tamales candy, Peeps Hot Tamales Marshmallow Chicks, Party Cake Peeps, Peeps Fruit Punch Marshmallow Chicks, and Peeps Wildberry Marshmallow Bunnies.

... For decades, the FDA has been aware of multiple studies showing that Red Dye 3 can cause cancer in animals. Several studies have linked some artificial food dyes, including Red Dye 3, to hyperactivity and other neurobehavioral effects in children.

... “Red Dye No. 3 has been banned by the FDA from use in cosmetics since 1990, but inexplicably is still allowed in food,” said Hansen.

https://advocacy.consumerreports.or...-candy-is-made-with-cancer-causing-red-dye-3/

 

[Mary Wilson]

So long, red dye No. 3? Why lawmakers want to cancel a chemical found in your Skittles and strawberry Yoohoo

MARCH 27, 2023 12:11 PM PT
BY STEPHANIE BREIJO

Skittles, strawberry Yoohoo and Walmart yogurt-dipped pretzels — what do these all have in common? They contain the controversial red dye No. 3 or titanium dioxide, which some California lawmakers are now waging war against.

A new bill could ban five chemicals prevalent in thousands of U.S. food items, including certain brands of fruit cups, sliced bread, fruit juice, cake mixes, trail mix and more.

Assembly Bill 418, introduced by Jesse Gabriel (D-Encino) and Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland), seeks to prohibit red dye No. 3 for good along with brominated vegetable oil, titanium dioxide, propylparaben and potassium bromate.

Red dye No. 3, a synthetic dye derived from petroleum, and titanium dioxide, which is a pigment often found in paint primer, are used for coloring food and are the most prevalent of the five proposed banned additives. The proposal cites a range of studies linking these additives to increased cancer risk, adverse behavioral development in children and decline in reproductive health, among other ailments; some studies tested their effects on humans, others on lab animals.

The legislators say they hope the bill, if passed, will inspire change nationally.

... Consumers today can order Skittles and other such items that don’t contain red dye No. 3 from Europe.

https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2023-03-27/red-dye-no-3-california-bill-ban-food-chemicals