Fewer risky food colors, please

In 2021, when regulators warned a bakery in Leeds, England, to stop using illegal sprinkles, the owner thought it was a joke. But indeed, the brightly colored sprinkles used to decorate the bakery’s best-selling raspberry glazed doughnut cookies contained erythrosin , also known as red no. 3 dye. The dye is banned in food in the UK and the European Union, except in cocktail cherries. The bakery reluctantly stopped using the forbidden sprinkles but complained that the ones sold in the UK are too dull. The bakery had purchased the sprinkles from a wholesaler that imported them from the US. Red no. 3 dye is allowed in food sold in the US, but it won’t be permitted for long in California, which banned the dye in food last year , effective January 1, 2027. Several other states are also considering banning the dye. The US Food and Drug Administration has