Red 3
PlainFoodSafe flags Red 3 as a synthetic dye (restrictions scheduled). CSPI Chemical Cuisine rates it “Avoid.” It appears in 4,654 indexed US food products. The FDA restriction takes effect2027-01-15.
Source-backed answer
Red 3 appears in 4,654 catalogued products. CSPI rates it “Avoid.” Its FDA SAFFA status is “FDA food listing remains in effect until Jan 15, 2027; revocation scheduled.” Those source labels describe the ingredient; they do not establish whether a particular product, dose, allergy, or diet is safe.
- 4,654
- catalogued products
- #224
- usage rank of 247,206
- 745
- named brands represented
- 79%
- average depth down ingredient lists
Catalog prevalence comes from Open Food Facts ingredient lists. FDA SAFFA and CSPI Chemical Cuisine labels are shown only when the source record contains them.
Red 3: top-decile catalog footprint (#224 of 247,206)
- Usage rank
- #224
- of 247,206 ingredients that appear in at least one catalogued product, listed in more products than 99.9% of them.
- Typical depth in an ingredient list
- 79%
- Of the way down the captured list, averaged across the 4,662 products listing it (mean slot 21.1). Red 3 usually falls near the end of the captured list; this position does not measure its amount because source formatting, compound ingredients and labeling exceptions vary.
Computed from parsed product ingredient lists (Open Food Facts). The ranking covers 247,206 ingredients that appear at least once. Neither usage rank nor label depth is a safety clearance.
How common is Red 3 vs other flagged additives?
Number of indexed products containing each of the most common flagged additives - Red 3 highlighted.
What this page can and cannot answer
Audit the co-occurring flags first
100% of the linked products contain at least one separately flagged ingredient, making co-occurrence the dominant follow-up question. That figure does not identify Red 3 as the trigger. Open records such as 1 Wow!, Lollipop Bouquet; 1/2 Marble Grad Cake With Red Borders; 10” Chocolate Cake Filled with Chocolate Mousse and inspect which ingredient row carries the caution marker. The 14.5/100 product average is therefore a triage signal for this surrounding formulation set, not an ingredient verdict. Its 79% average label depth helps locate the term when checking the package.
100% of linked products contain a separately flagged ingredient
Processing is unusually concentrated here: Group 4 accounts for 4650 of 4654 NOVA-tagged records. That describes the surrounding products, not the substance. For a useful comparison, hold category and processing level constant, then inspect which named component changes alongside the caution flag; otherwise the product mix will confound the ingredient question.
Next check: open the lowest-scoring linked formulation and locate the exact caution-marked component.
What else is usually in the same product as Red 3
Across the 4,654 products on this site that list Red 3, these flagged additives appear alongside it most often. The comparison column is how often each one appears across every product with a parsed ingredient list, so the two figures are measured over the same set. Blue 1 shows up about 17.4x more often with Red 3 than in the catalogue at large.
| Additive | Shared products | Share of Red 3 products | Share of all products |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blue 1 | 3,406 | 73.2% | 4.2% |
| Red 40 | 3,260 | 70% | 5.4% |
| Yellow 5 | 3,169 | 68.1% | 4.8% |
| Yellow 6 | 2,753 | 59.2% | 3.4% |
| Titanium Dioxide | 1,501 | 32.3% | 2.1% |
Co-occurrence describes what manufacturers formulate together. It is not a claim that these additives interact, and it carries no regulatory meaning. Counted over products with parsed ingredient lists; Open Food Facts, 2026-09-01.
Safety Concerns
Synthetic dye (restrictions scheduled)
How do the sampled products compare?
Each point is one of the 16 sampled products listed below: its overall safety score against how many separately flagged ingredients its label carries. Bubble size is the number of ingredient rows the label actually resolved to.
Safety score vs. flagged-ingredient count for products containing Red 3
Products Containing Red 3
High-volume slice (16 of 4,654) for products naming Red 3:
Red 3 vs other top-decile catalog footprints
Top-decile company for Red 3: 4,654 listings averaging 14.5/100. Catalog-mass neighbours in view: Milkfat; Blue 2; Vanillin.
Similar product count
Nearest other ingredients by Open Food Facts product count (floored at ≥50).
Similar mean product score
Nearest other ingredients by mean product screening score (floored at ≥50 scored products), distinct from the count row.
What to do with this Red 3 record
4,654 product rows plus any FDA/CSPI fields on Red 3 are the evidence base — drill into the listings that matter for your decision.
- Review the sampled product records that list Red 3 to see how the ingredient appears in actual labels. Open product sample
- Place Red 3 next to “Blue 2” (or another peer) using the same FDA/CSPI and prevalence fields. Browse ingredient records
- See the join rules behind screening scores before reading them as dietary advice. Read the methodology
This page describes published source classifications and product-label coverage. It is not dietary, allergy, or medical advice.
Red 3 — common follow-ups
How should I read safety signals when Red 3 sits in heavily flagged products? ▼
100% of linked products contain at least one separately flagged ingredient, so the first task is locating which row carries the caution marker — not assuming Red 3 is the trigger. Where a source rating exists, Red 3 scores 1/5 on this site's screening scale and CSPI lists it as "Avoid" with FDA SAFFA status "FDA food listing remains in effect until Jan 15, 2027; revocation scheduled". None of that replaces a product-, dose-, allergy-, or person-specific determination.
Which product shelves show up most often with Red 3? ▼
Red 3 ranks in the top decile by product count (#224 of 247,206), appearing in 4,654 indexed products led by Snacks. The sample list below is a slice of that footprint, not the full universe.
Why is Red 3 so common on ingredient lists? ▼
The source record does not name a technical effect, yet Red 3 appears in 4,654 products (#224 usage rank). High prevalence here describes formulation frequency, not an approved use level.
Regulatory status: FDA SAFFA (Red 3). Safety ratings: CSPI Chemical Cuisine; product presence: Open Food Facts via PlainFoodSafe (September 2026). Figures are computed from those sources, no editor-typed counts. Methodology · State regulations.