An ingredient used in thousands of foods including candy, cereal, and drink cherries will soon no longer be allowed.

Today the FDA announced it's banning "red number 3," a color additive made from petroleum that gives food and drinks a bright red color.

“These types of additives are unnecessary. They have clearly been identified by the science community as unsafe for human consumption and they're continuing to be put in our food unnecessarily,” said Illinois state Senator Willie Preston.

Illinois state Senator Willie Preston introduced "food safety legislation" last year, that would ban certain additives, including red 3, by 2028 in the state

“This is a real civil rights issue, the right to be able to be healthy and consume food that is not poisonous. That's exactly how I see it,” said Preston. 

California already has a law in place banning the synthetic dye.

Now all states will be required to end use in the food supply by 2027.

“FDA's action today is based on research conducted by the industry itself back in the 1980s which showed clearly that the administration of red 3 to rats caused thyroid cancer,” said Peter Lurie, Executive Director at the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

The decision, a victory for food safety advocacy groups who've been petitioning the fda for years to end its use

“Red 3 is in thousands of products and is often difficult to tell which products it's in based on color alone,” added Lurie. 

Nutritionists say it's important to read the label, and look for fewer ingredients focusing instead on whole foods.

“The color shouldn't dictate what we eat. We should really be getting back to not necessarily how pretty we can make something look but it is healthy,” said Kristin Gustashaw, Advanced Level Clinical Dietitian at the Rush University Medical Center