The U.S. on Wednesday banned the use of a synthetic food dye that gives some candies, cakes and certain oral medications a cherry-red color, following evidence that the dye causes cancer in laboratory rats.

(Reuters) -The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday banned the use of Red No. 3, a synthetic food dye that gives some candies, cakes and oral medications a cherry-red color, following evidence that the dye causes cancer in laboratory rats.

The Food and Drug Administration announced Wednesday it had decided to revoke Red 3's authorization to be added to foods, over concerns about how the food coloring is linked to cancer in laboratory animals.

Red No. 3, chemically known as erythrosine, was first introduced into foods in 1907. Companies subsequently added it to thousands of products to boost their colors over the decades, often in snacks like ice cream and candy marketed directly to children.

On Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an order that will ban Red No. 3, a synthetic dye, from food, drinks, and ingested drugs, in the U.S. The additive was first approved for use in 1907,

The FDA banned the use of red dye No. 3 in foods and medicines sold in the U.S. because it has been shown to cause cancer in rats. The action highlights the limits of a federal law known as the Delaney clause.