By steve
We continue our Dog Food Ingredients A to Z series with the letter “R”. Today’s ingredient is Red #3.
What is Red #3?
Red #3, and other red colorings like red #40, as well as all other artificial food colorings, are artificially made food coloring chemicals. Red #3 is a color similar to cherry red.
Common names for Red #3
The most common name variation is Red 3 or Red number 3 and Erythrosine.
Why is Red #3 included in dog food?
There is no nutritional reason to include Red #3 in dog food. Red #3 is most often used in lower quality dog food to make it more visually appealing to the human. As silly as that sounds it is true.
Is Red #3 a commonly used ingredient in dog food?
Red #3 is seen in about one half of a percent of dog foods. However, red dyes in general are seen in almost 5 % of dog foods.
Common benefits or risks of Red # 3
There are no benefits of Red #3. It is used to make low quality dog food look more appealing to the human! A dog does not care what color their food is. Even if it does look like cherries!
In 1990, the FDA issues a partial ban on Red #3, citing research that high doses have been found to cause cancer in rats.
Miscellaneous facts about Red #3
Red #3 is used to achieve a “Cherry Red” type of color. That would be interesting if we were talking about a water color painting and not food ;-).
Slimdoggy Ingredient Comfort Level
Without question, Red #3 gets the Slimdoggy frown. Avoid foods with this ingredient if you are financially able to.
Sources and further reading
We’re joining the Tasty Tuesday Blog Hop sponsored by Sugar, the Golden Retriever and Kolchak from Kol’s Notes:
From: Dog Food Ingredients A to Z: Red #3
