E127 — Erythrosine
E127 (Erythrosine), a color, is rated "avoid": worth avoiding. A cherry-red synthetic dye. The FDA revoked its food authorization in January 2025 after cancer findings in rats. The EU restricts it to cocktail and candied cherries.
What is Erythrosine?
A bright cherry-red synthetic dye that gives certain candies, frostings, and cocktail cherries their pop of color. Also called FD&C Red No. 3 in the United States.
What does it do to the body?
High doses in male rats caused thyroid tumors. EFSA considers the rat mechanism not directly relevant to humans, but the FDA banned it anyway under a US law that bars any additive shown to cause cancer in animals. Daily candy-eating children had the highest realistic exposure.
What regulators say
The FDA revoked its food authorization on January 15, 2025, with reformulation deadlines of January 2027 for foods and January 2028 for ingested drugs. EFSA kept the acceptable daily intake at 0.1 mg per kg of body weight per day in 2011 but restricts it to cocktail and candied cherries only.
Risk rating: Avoid
Known or suspected to cause harm: a substance EFSA or another regulator has flagged, or one restricted in some jurisdictions. Best kept out of a regular diet.
Source: FDA — Red No. 3 revocation (2025) ↗