Food additives are everywhere. Here’s what to know and what to avoid | Canada Voices

Unless you grow your own food and eat only unprocessed foods, it’s impossible to avoid food additives.

In Canada, more than 850 additives are used by food manufacturers to prolong shelf life, increase food safety, improve taste, texture and/or appearance, and enhance nutritional value.

Food additives must pass through rigorous testing to ensure their quality, effectiveness and safety before being approved by Health Canada.

While most food additives are safe, others are controversial because questions about their safety in humans have been difficult to answer.

On Jan. 15, U.S. regulators prohibited a controversial food colouring called red dye No. 3 from being added to foods and oral medications.

Health Canada contends the synthetic red dye does not present a safety concern.

Here’s what you need to know about red dye No.3 and other questionable food additives, plus tips to help you avoid them.

Red dye No. 3

Also known as erythrosine, red dye No. 3 can be added to candies, cakes, cupcakes, frosting, jams, certain condiments, strawberry flavoured milk, frozen desserts and fruit cocktail to give them a bright cherry-red hue.

The additive has no nutritional value; it’s used to make highly processed foods more appealing.

Red dye No. 3, permitted in the U.S. food supply since 1969, was banned over its potential cancer risk. Two studies showed it caused cancer in male rats exposed to high levels of the dye.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration maintains, though, that studies in other animals and humans have not found carcinogenic effects. And the hormonal mechanism by which red dye No. 3 causes cancer in rats doesn’t exist in humans.

The decision to ban the dye was based on a law called the Delaney Clause, which requires the FDA to ban additives found to cause or induce cancer in humans or animals.

Manufacturers have until mid-January, 2027, to remove red dye No. 3 from their products.

Red dye No. 3 is also restricted as a food additive in Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

Unless new data shows that red dye No. 3 poses a human health risk, Health Canada has no plans to ban it. Unlike the U.S., Health Canada limits how much of the dye can be added to food.

Health Canada also points to a 2018 safety evaluation of red dye No. 3, conducted by a joint committee of the United Nations and the World Health Organization, which found no safety concerns to humans.

Brominated vegetable oil (BVO)

For decades, Canada and the U.S. have permitted BVO for use in certain soft drinks and sports drinks to prevent citrus flavourings from separating and floating to the surface.

Health concerns about BVO revolve around bromine, one of its ingredients. Long-term exposure has been linked to neurological symptoms including headache, memory loss and impaired balance and coordination.

The good news: as of Aug. 30, 2025, food products in the grocery store will not contain BVO.

After conducting an updated safety assessment, Health Canada announced last August that it had removed BVO from its list of permitted food additives. The additive was banned in the U.S. on Aug. 2. Companies have one year to reformulate their products.

These announcements came after a well-controlled study, published in 2022 by the FDA and the National Institutes of Health, showed rats fed BVO experienced harmful thyroid gland effects with lower BVO doses than were used in earlier studies.

Japan and the EU have restricted BVO as a food additive for 15 years. The additive has been prohibited in India since 1990.

Titanium dioxide

Banned in Europe in 2021, this synthetic food additive is currently approved for use in Canada and the U.S.

Titanium dioxide has no nutritional value nor does it provide a preservative function. It’s used strictly to add a white colour and brighten foods including candy, chewing gum, pastries, cakes, frostings, sauces, jams, ketchup, relish and coffee creamers.

The EU’s decision to prohibit the colourant was based on evidence from lab studies which showed that exposure to titanium dioxide damaged DNA, the genetic material in cells. While it’s unclear what this means for human consumption, it was concluded the additive could no longer be considered safe.

Health Canada published its “state of the science” report on titanium dioxide in 2022, which also included studies that fed high doses of the additive to rodents. The review found no conclusive evidence of cancer, DNA damage or harmful effects on the immune, gastrointestinal or nervous systems of mice and rats.

Public health watchdogs contend there’s no reason for food companies to wait for regulations to reformulate products to remove titanium dioxide.

How to avoid unwanted additives

Read ingredient lists to seek out specific additives you’re looking to avoid.

As of December, 2021, individual colour additives – natural or synthetic – must be listed by their proper name on Canadian food labels (i.e., they can no longer simply be listed as “colour”.)

Consider organic versions which are produced without synthetic chemicals, including colours, flavours and preservatives.

Eating more whole and minimally processed foods can also reduce your intake of controversial food additives.

Leslie Beck, a Toronto-based private practice dietitian, is director of food and nutrition at Medcan. Follow her on X @LeslieBeckRD