Home › Ingredients › Red 3 (Erythrosine / E127)
Is Red 3 (erythrosine / E127) safe?
- US: revoked for food in Jan 2025 — high doses caused thyroid tumours in rats
- EU: permitted only in certain cherries since 1994
- India (FSSAI): still permitted in candies, jellies and syrups within limits
- LabelCop: flags E127 on every label — strictest regulator wins
What is Red 3?
- A synthetic cherry-red dye made from petroleum
- One job in food: a bright, warm red colour
- Also called erythrosine — Red 3 is its US name
- Label names: erythrosine, Red 3, FD&C Red No. 3, E127, INS 127, CI 45430
Which foods contain it?
- Glacé, cocktail and candied cherries — its main EU-permitted use
- Bright red candies, jellies and gummies
- Cake gels, icings and decorating gels
- Strawberry-flavoured sweets, milkshakes and syrups
- Some chewable tablets and supplements
- In India: most common in boiled sweets, jelly candies, flavoured syrups and powdered soft-drink mixes — look for INS 127 on the label
What the regulators actually say
| Regulator | Status | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| FDA (United States) | Revoked for food (Jan 2025) | On 15 January 2025 the FDA revoked authorisation for FD&C Red No. 3 in food, acting under the Delaney Clause — a US law barring any additive shown to cause cancer in animals at any dose. High doses caused thyroid tumours in male rats. Manufacturers must reformulate food by 15 January 2027 (ingested drugs by 18 January 2028). |
| EFSA / European Union | Restricted to cherries only | Since 1994 the EU has permitted E127 in just one category — cocktail, candied and Bigarreaux cherries — at up to 200 mg/kg. EFSA's 2011 re-evaluation kept this narrow authorisation and one of the lowest acceptable daily intakes of any colour: 0.1 mg/kg body weight per day. |
| FSSAI (India) | Permitted in specified foods | Allowed as a colour (INS 127) in specified categories — up to 100 ppm in products such as jelly, candies, wafers and powdered soft drinks, and up to 200 ppm in synthetic syrups and some fruit beverages. |
| WHO / JECFA | Daily limit set | The joint FAO/WHO expert committee set an acceptable daily intake of 0.1 mg/kg body weight per day — judging the rat thyroid effect unlikely to occur at normal dietary exposure, rather than banning it outright. |
Why do regulators disagree?
- Everyone agrees on the same rat study. High doses of erythrosine produced thyroid tumours in male rats
- The dispute is about how to act on it. The US uses the Delaney Clause — a zero-tolerance rule: cause cancer in animals at any dose, lose the food approval, full stop
- EFSA, FSSAI and the WHO instead set a daily limit — they judge the rat effect a high-dose, thyroid-hormone mechanism unlikely to apply at the amounts people actually eat
- The EU went further than a limit and confined it to cherries decades ago — a middle path between banning and freely allowing
- None of these are dishonest — they weigh the same evidence against different legal tests. We show you the split instead of quietly picking a side
- One precision: a rat cancer signal is not proof of human cancer risk at dietary doses — but it is exactly the kind of unsettled flag worth knowing about
- E127 is a high-risk flag in LabelCop
- Rule: strictest regulator wins — the US revocation means we flag it everywhere, even where it's still legal
- The product's score takes a penalty — and you see the flag, the reason and the sources. No black box
Frequently asked questions
Is Red 3 banned in India?
No. FSSAI permits erythrosine (INS 127) in specified foods — up to 100 ppm in jelly, candies, wafers and powdered soft drinks, and up to 200 ppm in synthetic syrups and some fruit beverages. The US revoked it for food in January 2025, and the EU allows it only in certain cherries.
Why did the US ban it but India didn't?
The FDA revoked Red 3 in food under the Delaney Clause — a US law that forbids any additive shown to cause cancer in animals at any dose. High doses caused thyroid tumours in rats, which triggers the clause automatically. FSSAI and the WHO's JECFA instead set a daily-intake limit, judging the effect unlikely at normal consumption.
Is Red 3 the same as Red 40?
No — different dyes. Red 3 is erythrosine (E127), revoked from US food in 2025 and restricted to cherries in the EU. Red 40 is Allura Red (E129), still permitted in the US and India but carrying a child-behaviour warning in the EU.
Which label names should I look for?
Erythrosine, Red 3, FD&C Red No. 3, E127, INS 127 or CI 45430 — most common in bright red sweets, glacé cherries, jelly candies and flavoured syrups.
How do I avoid it?
Read the ingredients list for the names above — or scan the label with LabelCop and it's flagged automatically, with the regulator reasoning shown.
LabelCop reads any food label you photograph and flags additives like E127 instantly — no barcode needed.
Join the early-access listSources
FDA: FD&C Red No. 3 — revocation of authorisation for use in food and ingested drugs · EFSA (2011): re-evaluation of Erythrosine (E 127) as a food additive · FSSAI: Food Safety and Standards regulations — permitted colours and limits · WHO/JECFA: erythrosine evaluation and acceptable daily intake
Related ingredients: Red 40 / Allura Red (E129) · Tartrazine (E102 / Yellow 5) · Sunset yellow (E110)
This article explains regulatory status and published scientific assessments in plain English. It is not medical advice.