FD&C Red No. 3

E number E127INS 127CAS 2611-82-7

Used as a colour.

FD&C Red No. 3, known internationally as erythrosine, is a synthetic cherry-pink dye used in confectionery, glacé cherries and baked goods. In January 2025 the FDA revoked its authorisation for use in food and ingested drugs.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of FD&C Red No. 3 by jurisdiction. Every jurisdiction this site covers is listed, including those where the substance does not appear.
JurisdictionStatusScope and limitsCitation
United StatesFood and Drug AdministrationPermitted, with conditions

Subject to batch certification by FDA.

21 CFR 74.303retrieved 2026-09-07
Codex AlimentariusCodex Alimentarius Commission / JECFAPermitted, with conditions

8 food categories

highest permitted level 200 mg/kg

Show every food category
  • 04.1.2.4 Canned or bottled (pasteurized) fruit — 200 mg/kg
  • 04.1.2.7 Candied fruit — 200 mg/kg
  • 04.2.2.7 Fermented vegetable (including mushrooms and fungi, roots and tubers, pulses and legumes, and aloe vera) and seaweed products, excluding fermented soybean products of food categories 06.8.6, 06.8.7, 12.9.1, — 30 mg/kg
  • 05.3 Chewing gum — 50 mg/kg
  • 05.4 Decorations (e.g. for fine bakery wares), toppings (non-fruit), and sweet sauces — 100 mg/kg
  • 08.2 Processed meat, poultry, and game products in whole pieces or cuts — 30 mg/kg
  • 08.3 Processed comminuted meat, poultry, and game products — 30 mg/kg
  • 12.6.2 Non-emulsified sauces (e.g. ketchup, cheese sauce, cream sauce, brown gravy) — 50 mg/kg
CXS 192-1995 Table One, INS 127and 7 further provisionsretrieved 2026-09-07

What it is made from

An iodinated xanthene dye, made by adding iodine to fluorescein, itself synthesised from petroleum-derived phthalic anhydride and resorcinol. No animal-derived material is involved.

  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian
CAS registry number
2611-82-7
InChIKey
IVKWXPBUMQZFCW-UHFFFAOYSA-L
PubChem
CID 166534

Every name it appears under

108 recorded names. A label may use any of them.

E number

  • E127

INS number

  • 127

CAS registry number

  • 16423-68-0
  • 2611-82-7
  • 49746-10-3

As it appears in regulation

  • FD&C Red No. 3

Other names

  • 2',4',5',7'-Tetraiodofluorescein disodium salt
  • 2',4',5',7'-Tetraiodofluorescein disodium salt monohydrate
  • 9- (O- CARBOXYPHENYL)-6-HYDROXY - 2,4,5,7-TETRAIODO- MONOHYDRATE
  • 9-(O-CARBOXYPHENYL)-6-HYDROXY-2,4,5,7-TETRAIODO-MONOHYDRATE
  • Acid Brilliant Scarlet 3R
  • Acid Ponceau 4R
  • Acid red 18
  • Acid red 51
  • Acid Scarlet 3R
  • Acid Scarlet 3RZ
  • Acid Scarlet 4R
  • Acilan Scarlet V3R
  • AKA3
  • Atul Acid Scarlet 3R
  • Atul Scarlet F
  • Brilliant Ponceau 3R
  • Brilliant Ponceau 4R
  • Brilliant Ponceau 5R
  • Brilliant Scarlet
  • Brilliant Scarlet 3R
  • Brilliant Scarlet 4R
  • C.I. Acid Red 18
  • C.I. Acid Red 18 (VAN)
  • C.I. Acid Red 18, Trisodium Salt
  • C.I. Acid Red 28
  • Certicol Ponceau 4RS
  • CI Food Red 14
  • Cilefa Ponceau 4R
  • Coccin Red
  • Coccine
  • Cochineal Red 4R
  • Cochineal Red A
  • Colacid Ponceau 4R
  • Curol Bright Red 4R
  • disodium 2-(2,4,5,7-tetraiodo-6-oxido-3-oxo-3H-xanthen-9-yl)benzoate
  • Disodium 2-(2,4,5,7-tetraiodo-6-oxido-3-oxoxanthen-9-yl)benzoate
  • disodium;2-(2,4,5,7-tetraiodo-3-oxido-6-oxoxanthen-9-yl)benzoate;hydrate
  • DYE FDC RED #3 [VANDF]
  • E 127
  • Edicol Supra Ponceau 4RS
  • Edicol Supra Ponceaux 4 RS
  • Erythrosin extra bluish
  • ERYTHROSINE (MART.)
  • ERYTHROSINE [MART.]
  • Erythrosine B
  • ERYTHROSINE SODIUM (USP IMPURITY)
  • Erythrosine sodium (USP XXII)
  • ERYTHROSINE SODIUM [USP IMPURITY]
  • Erythrosine sodium hydrate
  • ERYTHROSINE, SODIUM MONOHYDRATE
  • F D & C RED #3 [VANDF]
  • F D & C RED #3 ALUMINUM LAKE [VANDF]
  • F D & C RED NO. 3
  • FD&C RED NO. 3 (II)
  • FD&C RED NO. 3 [FCC]
  • Fenazo Scarlet 3R
  • Food Red 102
  • Food Red 7
  • Food Red No. 102
  • Food Red Number 102
  • HD Ponceau 4R
  • Hexacol Ponceau 4R
  • INS NO.127
  • INS-127
  • Iodoeosin
  • IVKWXPBUMQZFCW-UHFFFAOYSA-L
  • JAPAN RED 3
  • Java Scarlet 3R
  • Kiton Scarlet 4R
  • Naphthalene Ink Scarlet 4R
  • Neklacid Red 3R
  • Neklacid Red 4R
  • Neucoccin
  • New Coccin
  • New coccine
  • PN2ZH5LOQY
  • Ponceau 4R
  • Ponceau 4R, Cochineal Red A
  • Ponceau 4RC
  • Ponceau 4RE
  • Ponceau 4RE.FQ
  • Ponceau 4RF
  • Ponceau 4RT
  • Pontacyl Scarlet RR
  • Purple Red
  • RED 1799
  • RED 3
  • Red No. 3
  • Revelplac (TN)
  • Scarlet 4R
  • Scarlet 4RA
  • Schultz Nr. 213
  • Strawberry Red
  • SX Purple
  • Victoria Scarlet 3R
  • Victoria Scarlet Red
  • YELLOW NO. 201

Systematic names

  • Disodium 2',4',5',7'-tetraiodo-3-oxospiro[2-benzofuran-1,9'-xanthene]-3',6'-diolate
  • Sodium 2-(2,4,5,7-tetraiodo-6-oxido-3-oxo-3H-xanthen-9-yl)benzoate--water (2/1/1)
  • Spiro(isobenzofuran-1(3H),9'-(9H)xanthen)-3-one, 3',6'-dihydroxy-2',4',5',7'-tetraiodo-, disodium salt, monohydrate
  • Spiro[isobenzofuran-1(3H),9'-[9H]xanthen]-3-one,3',6'-dihydroxy-2',4',5',7'-tetraiodo-, sodium salt, hydrate (1:2:1)
  • Trisodium (8Z)-7-oxo-8-[(4-sulfonatonaphthalen-1-yl)hydrazinylidene]naphthalene-1,3-disulfonate

Hazard reference values

Values set by assessing bodies. A body that has not set a value is not listed here.
TypeValuePopulationAssessed byOpinion
ADI0.1 mg/kg bw/dayconsumersEFSA FEEDAP2011
ADI0.1 mg/kg bw/dayconsumersEFSAnot identified in the dataset

Evidence and how bodies read it

How different bodies read the evidence

Positions are paraphrased in each body's own framing. Where they differ, both stand; this site does not adjudicate between them.

  1. FDA 2025

    Revoked the authorisation for FD&C Red No. 3 in food and ingested drugs, acting under the Delaney Clause, which prohibits any additive shown to induce cancer in animals regardless of dose. The agency noted the mechanism observed in male rats is not considered to operate in humans, but that the clause leaves no discretion once the animal finding stands.

    Action taken: Revoked authorisation, with compliance dates in 2027 and 2028

    Source document

Sources for this page

  • ecfr retrieved 2026-09-07
  • gsfa retrieved 2026-09-07

Full licence terms and publisher details on Sources. How this page is built and updated: Method.

Machine-readable:/api/v1/additives/fd-and-c-red-no-3.json