The Food and Drug Administration is finally expected to move to ban artificial red food colouring—the dye extensively found in beverages, snacks, cereals, and candies.

The FDA said after a decade the safety of the synthetic additive, often called out for a number of serious side effects, is being re-evaluated. “With Red 3, we have a petition in front of us to revoke the authorisation board, and we’re hopeful that in the next few weeks, we’ll be acting on that petition,” Jim Jones, the FDA’s deputy commissioner for human foods told the Senate Health, Education, Labour, and Pensions Committee meeting.

At the meeting, many members, including House Energy and Commerce Committee ranking member Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J., also urged the regulation body to put a ban on Red No. 3, which is made from petroleum and gives food and drinks a bright cherry color. “With the holiday season in full swing where sweet treats are abundant, it is frightening that this chemical remains hidden in these foods that we and our children are eating,” Pallone wrote in a letter to the agency.

“While food companies must ensure that the food they market is safe, they are only required to ensure that their products meet FDA’s standards. This means that thousands of products that contain this chemical can remain on the market.”

Many studies have linked artificial food dyes like red dye 40 to hyperactivity, including ADHD. Some research also shows a link between the dyes and increased ADHD or hyperactivity in children. Currently, the US does not ban artificial food dyes, but scientists have vociferously said there is enough evidence to justify denying them.

Apart from ADHD, a few other potential side effects of Red No.3 include:

• Behavioural changes like irritability and depression
• Allergies
• Hives and asthma
• Sneezing
• Watery eyes
• Skin irritation
• Migraines and severe headache

Red dye 40 contains benzene, a known cancer-causing substance

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for health secretary, has claimed food dyes cause cancer but has not said what he would do if confirmed to the Cabinet post—if anything—about artificial food dyes in American food. “There are some departments, such as the nutrition departments in the FDA, that have to go; they are not doing their job; they are not protecting our kids,” Kennedy said in a news interview with NBC News last month.

All colour additives used in foods have to be approved by the FDA before they are used in food sold across the country. There are over 36 FDA-approved colour additives—9 of which are synthetic dyes—which includes the two red dyes currently under federal scrutiny.

Experts say some of the dyes used in food are also added to pharmaceutical drugs. In the last decade, the FDA had banned Red No. 3—also known as erythrosine—from cosmetics and topical drugs since the chemical was shown to be carcinogenic at high doses in tests on lab rats.

According to experts, while buying any food, you must first read nutrition labels and look for foods that use natural colours from fruit and vegetable extracts, like:

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