What the Red Dye No. 3 Ban Means for Our Small Farm

SHARED FROM MY FEBRUARY 14, 2025 NEWSLETTER

I'm sure by now you've heard the news that the FDA recently revoked authorization for the use of Red Dye No. 3 in food and ingested drugs. 👏

Hopefully you know us well enough to know that this change means absolutely nothing for us, and that my subject line was simply rhetorical. 😁

We have never used synthetic dyes, or any dyes for that matter, in our meats.

And while that shouldn't be a necessary claim, it's true that some meats and meat products do contain Red Dye No. 3 (aka Erythrosine.)

Bacon, jerky, meat sticks, hot dogs, sausages, "vegan meats", bologna, ham, and deli meats are a few of the products that have been known to contain Red 3.

Now, the good news is that the FDA is no longer allowing the use of Red Dye No. 3 in these products.

The bad news? Manufacturers have until 2027 to remove Red Dye No. 3 from their products. ⁉️

And this does NOT affect other synthetic dyes currently approved by the FDA for use in food, such as Red No. 40.

So to answer the question everyone's asking: no, it doesn't actually change anything today. To avoid synthetic dyes, we'll have to continue reading labels for now.

And sadly, the companies using these dyes will be in no rush to remove it from their food, unless they have enough savvy to realize that more consumers than ever will now be avoiding them.

The greatest irony is that the FDA actually banned the use of Red Dye No. 3 in cosmetics back in 1990 because they found that it isn't safe to put on our skin... 🤦‍♂️ But I digress.

On a brighter (non-artificially-colored) note... it's Valentine's Day! 💙

I didn't have time this week to send you each a card, so please accept this as my cheesy digital Valentine to say that I greatly love and appreciate you.

It's our pleasure to raise happy livestock and produce real meats in a way that's redeeming the soil, but if it wasn't for your decision to make us your farmers, our efforts would go nowhere.

So thank you, and Happy Valentine's Day from me and the families at David's Pasture.

Your farmer,
Remi Kesten