PrincessShmoo
DIS veteran
- Joined
- Feb 12, 2009
The red dye that M&Ms used was not one of the two carcinogenic red dyes used in food products. But they removed the red ones as a PR move, to placate the public.There was a time when the red ones were totally removed (the dye they used was found to be carcinogenic) but I don't recall only brown.
Red M&Ms; were discontinued in 1976 because of "confusion and concern" over Red Dye No. 2, which was banned by federal regulators as a health risk, said Fiuczynski. Red M&Ms; contained Red Dye Nos. 3 and 40, which are considered safe.
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-01-15-fi-4656-story.html
And from Wikipedia:
In 1976, the color orange was added to the mix to replace red, which was discontinued in response to the "red dye scare" over Red Dyes #2 and #4 having been evaluated to be carcinogenic in nature. Although M&M's were made with the less controversial Red Dye #40, the public was wary of any food being dyed red. Red M&M's were re-introduced in 1987. [13][17]