US authorities announced today that they are banning the use of a controversial red dye in food and medicine that has been known for more than 30 years to cause various forms of cancer in animals — a major victory for consumer groups.

The synthetic dye called erythrosine, produced from petroleum, is also known as E127 in Europe and “Red 3” in North America. It is used to give food or medicine capsules a pink to deep red appearance.

The dye is found in nearly 3,000 food products sold in the U.S., according to the environmental group EWG’s database: candy, canned fruit, beverages, even a vegetarian bacon substitute.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) “is revoking the license to use Red 3 in food as well as in oral medicine,” it said in an official document released today.

This pigment already could not be used in the United States in cosmetics and drugs applied directly to the skin since 1990 because of the risk of allergy and suspicion of its carcinogenic nature, after studies showed that it caused various forms of cancer in rodents.

Elsewhere in the world, several countries, mainly those of the European Union, very strictly restrict its use.

American consumer associations had submitted a 2022 request to the FDA to ban the use of this additive in food as well as in oral medications.

A request to which the authorities decided to respond positively.