BLACKSBURG, Va. (WDBJ) - Earlier this year, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned the use of Red No.3 dye. This is after it was found to cause cancer in lab rats. Now the organization is looking to take action on even more common dyes found in our foods.

The list includes Blue 1 and 2, Green 3, Red 40, Yellow 5 and 6, Citrus Red 2 and Orange B.

The FDA is looking to swap these artificial colors for naturally-derived dyes.

Melissa Wright, the Director of the Food Producer Technical Assistant Network at Virginia Tech, works to support entrepreneurs in the food business. Wright assists with nutrition label content, food safety analysis, and pertinent food regulations.

Wright says the FDA’s plans could be the healthier direction, however, it may not be the smartest financial decision.

Wright says manufacturers could have a hard time marketing their products due to alternative dyes not being as bright. With colors being one of the main reasons consumers are drawn to products and manufacturers potentially being left to re-formulate their products, it could affect businesses greatly.

“You see that soda in the in the case and you’re like, I want the cool blue Gatorade because that’s my favorite color, and if it’s not blue anymore, are you going to like it as well? Who knows? So ultimately, I think it’s not a bad idea, but I think it’s being executed too quickly without a lot of answers,” Wright said.

Wright also says she doesn’t feel that the color additives are the issue and the danger lies in the highly-processed foods they are found in.

The question most of us have is, why is this happening now after so many years?

Well, Wright’s take on it is that there is growing research linking the artificial food dyes to hyper-activity in children along with a political push to clean up our foods in the U.S.

While naturally sourced alternatives are available, she says there is not a lot of research on it’s safety to be used as a color additive.