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.

The Food and Drug Administration has said it is banning the use of Red No. 3, a synthetic dye that has long been used in the U.S. to color certain foods, such as candies and colored beverages, as well as some oral medicines and supplements.

The US Food and Drug Administration has banned the use of red dye No. 3 in food, beverages and ingested drugs, more than 30 years after scientists discovered links to cancer in animals, the agency announced Wednesday.