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Peeps will soon lose red dye No. 3, an ingredient just banned in California

Just Born, the Pennsylvania candy company that makes the marshmallows, says it will remove a dye used in some Peeps.

Marshmallow Peeps candy is on display at a store in Lafayette, Calif. A new law in that state bans four chemicals from food and drinks, including red dye No. 3, a food coloring used in Peeps.
Marshmallow Peeps candy is on display at a store in Lafayette, Calif. A new law in that state bans four chemicals from food and drinks, including red dye No. 3, a food coloring used in Peeps.Read moreHaven Daley / AP

Peeps, the colorful sugarcoated marshmallows made in Bethlehem, will soon no longer contain an ingredient known as red dye No. 3.

The change comes as California signed into law a ban on four food and drink additives, including red dye No. 3, which is used in Pez and Ring Pops as well as Peeps. The law will go into effect in 2027, which gives candymakers time to adapt their recipes, according to the governor of California. New York also has a bill in the Senate, which aims to adopt a similar ban.

Pink and lavender Peeps will contain the dye through Easter 2024, says Just Born Quality Confections, makers of the marshmallow candies, but the additive will be completely removed after the holiday.

Just Born, has been working on an alternative to the dye for years, according to the company. Red dye No. 3 has been shown to cause cancer in lab animals, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a partial ban on it in 1990.

“Just Born has always evolved with new developments and consumer preferences. We have worked hard to develop new formulations to bring fans the colorful Peeps they know and love,” said Keith Domalewski, director of marketing.

The dye provides a “brilliant watermelon red color to foods,” according to Just Born’s website. The company has developed alternatives that could be used instead of the dye, and is deciding which one to incorporate into its Peeps recipe.

Beyond Peeps, Just Born produces several candies, including Hot Tamales, Mike and Ike, and Goldenberg’s Peanut Chews. Peeps is the company’s only product that still uses the red dye. In the past, the dye was also used in some of the company’s jelly bean products.

The dye was removed from Hot Tamales this summer, and the updated ingredient list on the candy boxes will hit stores in the coming months.

Just Born, which is celebrating 100 years in business this year, has been making Peeps since 1953.

The “father of Peeps,” Ira “Bob” Born, who died earlier this year, helped mechanize the process of making the marshmallow candies, which once took 27 hours to make, and today take six minutes. The machines used today to make Peeps are based off of his original design.