A widely used artificial food dye could soon be outlawed.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is moving to ban an artificial food coloring called Red No. 3, also known as Erythrosine.
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.
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"With Red 3, we have a petition in front of us to revoke the authorization board, and we’re hopeful that in the next few weeks we’ll be acting on that petition," Jim Jones, the FDA’s deputy commissioner for human foods, told a U.S. Senate health committee on Thursday.
The petition the FDA is reviewing cites 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, per the FDA’s statement.
Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Health and Fox News' senior medical analyst, joined "Fox and Friends" to discuss the potential ban of the food dye, which he calls "scary stuff."
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"It's been banned from skin products since the 1990s," Siegel pointed out. "So I wonder why is it not allowed in skin products? You know, something you can’t put on your face — yet a kid can eat it."
Red No. 3 has been banned in the European Union, the U.K., and most of Asia and Australia, the doctor pointed out.
"Why are we so late and why now?" he asked, attributing the move to the fact that "there's a new marshal in town" — namely, President-elect Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
"And Jimmy Jones, who's the head of FDA food division, is now responding to petitions from the public, from consumers and from the House of Representatives," Siegel continued.
"And they're going to get it out of the food, finally."
The FDA is making this move now, according to Siegel, because "they know it's going to happen one way or the other. So they want to do it now."
Previous research has raised concerns about potential health risks associated with all nine of the food dyes that are approved in the U.S.
Red No. 3, in particular, has been shown to cause cancer in animal studies.
It has also been linked to an increase in childhood behavioral issues.
"They've studied it in high doses with cancer, but also for ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder)," Siegel said.
"All of these food dyes can be related to this — 26 studies seem to have shown it," he went on.
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"It's a disgrace that we have nine synthetic dyes in our food in the United States."
Siegel said the FDA has previously stated "they can’t prove" it causes these conditions.
"They don't do enough post-market analysis where it's already on the market," he said. "They're not studying it enough."
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 petition to remove Red No. 3 from foods, supplements and medications was presented by the Center for Science in the Public Interest and 23 other organizations and scientists.
Fox News Digital reached out to the FDA requesting comment.
