FDA revoking Red 3’s approval as a color additive bring other issues to the forefront: where did the name come from and what does the “FD&C” before Red 40 mean anyways? Click through the following to learn the code.

What about those other reds?

There were only 5 reds ever approved for food use (1, 2, 3, 4, and 40); the rest (5-39) were approved for drug and cosmetic use. Red 40 was a late addition and got its name because it was the 40th red shade. In theory it could have been FD&C Red No. 5 because it was 5th red colorant approved for food use. However, “Red 5” was already taken as a name.

With the Color Additive Amendments of 1960, FDA conducted a re-review of all the colorants and we ultimately get to the current list of reds, which has been whittled down from the original list. Since FDA never renamed anything, we get Red 3 and Red 40 with no food red colorants remaining in the middle.

Strikethrough = no longer approved; Orange Highlight = drug or cosmetic approval; Green Highlight = food approval.