E127 – Erythrosine | Red 3 Ban, Thyroid Risk & Food Uses

Quick analysis summary about E127 – Erythrosine food additive

Bottom line

E127 erythrosine is a synthetic red food colour with a long regulatory history. It is still allowed in the EU only for very limited cherry-related uses, but the FDA revoked Red 3 for food and ingested drugs in 2025, so this additive fits the RED – UNSAFE category for this project.[1-3]

Why this grade

The main issue is not proven cancer in ordinary human diets. The problem is that repeated animal studies showed thyroid effects and thyroid tumour findings in rats, and those findings were serious enough for the FDA to revoke food authorization under US law.[1,4]

Who may want to limit or avoid it

Children with frequent intake of brightly coloured sweets and decorative foods are the most realistic higher-intake group when the dye is present. People who prefer to avoid disputed synthetic colours may also want to avoid it.[2,5]

Common uses and where it appears

In the EU, erythrosine is linked mainly to certain preserved or candied cherry products rather than broad use across the food supply.[3,6] Historically, it was used more widely in some other markets under the name Red 3.[1]

Source or origin

Erythrosine is a synthetic iodine-containing xanthene dye, not a natural fruit or plant pigment.[2,5]

Intake note

EFSA and JECFA set an Acceptable Daily Intake of 0–0.1 mg/kg body weight per day.[2,7] That is a low ADI for a food colour and reflects the importance of the thyroid toxicology database.

Is it banned anywhere?

EU authorisation remains very narrow and mainly limited to certain preserved and candied cherry uses.[3,6] In the United States, the FDA revoked authorization for Red 3 in food and ingested drugs on 15 January 2025, with compliance dates extending into 2027 and 2028.[1] Other reviewed markets have historically allowed erythrosine in some form, but rules vary by jurisdiction.[6]

Safety grading RED – UNSAFE

E127 is graded RED – UNSAFE here because a major regulator has revoked its food authorization and the underlying animal evidence includes persistent thyroid-related concern rather than a trivial signal.[1,4] The human evidence does not show clear cancer risk at normal dietary exposure, but the combination of a very low ADI, long-running rat thyroid findings, and the 2025 US revocation supports a stricter grade than GREEN or ORANGE.[1,2]

Study basis or key toxicological reasoning

The key additive-specific long-term rat study found increased thyroid weights, follicular cell hypertrophy, hyperplasia, and adenomas in males at the highest dose of 4.0% in the diet, around 2464 mg/kg body weight per day, with a male NOAEL of 0.5% in the diet, about 251 mg/kg/day.[4] EFSA and JECFA interpreted the thyroid tumour signal as secondary to disruption of thyroid hormone homeostasis rather than direct genotoxicity, which is why they retained a numerical ADI instead of treating the colour as a non-threshold carcinogen.[2,7] Developmental and reproductive studies were less alarming overall, but newer non-standard models such as zebrafish embryos still report developmental toxicity at high experimental concentrations.[5,8]

Side effects

Thyroid concern in animal studies. The main repeated signal is thyroid disruption and thyroid tumour promotion in rats at high doses.[2,4]
Higher-dose concern. The most serious findings come from doses far above ordinary food exposure, but they still matter for hazard assessment.
Developmental effects in experimental models. Zebrafish embryo studies reported developmental effects and oxidative-stress signals at high concentrations.[8]
Practical caution for frequent consumers. Repeated exposure from brightly coloured processed foods is more relevant than occasional intake.

Should You Avoid This Additive?

Avoiding E127 is a reasonable choice, especially when alternatives exist. This is not because normal intake has been proven to harm most people, but because the additive now has a revoked US food authorization, a narrow EU position, and a toxicology profile centred on thyroid effects in animal studies.[1-3]

Common Uses

Preserved cocktail cherries.
Candied cherries and glacé cherries.
Bigarreaux cherries in syrup or cocktails.
Decorative red food uses in some markets historically sold as Red 3.

Common names / Synonyms

Erythrosine
E127
FD&C Red No. 3
Red 3
CI Food Red 14
Erythrosine B
Tetraiodofluorescein sodium salt

What is it?

E127, better known as erythrosine, is a synthetic red food colour from the xanthene dye family. It is an iodine-containing compound valued for a vivid pink-to-cherry-red shade.[2,7] Unlike natural red colours such as beetroot pigments or carmine, erythrosine is manufactured rather than extracted from food sources.

Its modern food role is much narrower than it once was. In the EU it is essentially a specialty colour for certain cherry products, while in the US Red 3 was used more broadly before the FDA’s 2025 revocation for food and ingested drugs.[1,3] Toxicology debates have focused for decades on thyroid effects in animals, especially male rats.[1,2,4]

Where it’s allowed (EU vs US)

In the EU, erythrosine remains authorised only for a narrow range of cherry-related uses.[3,6] In the US, FDA revoked Red 3 for food and ingested drugs in January 2025, although products already in the market chain may still appear during the compliance period into 2027 and 2028.[1]

E127 – Erythrosine