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Maraschino cherries have long been familiar to Americans as those bright red, sweet cherries typically used to adorn cocktails, ice cream sundaes, and other drinks and confections. On 9 February 2015, a blog post titled Maraschino cherries classified as decorations, not food; contain toxic, banned dye stated that an atypical progression of regulatory classification in the U.S. led to the unusual circumstance of maraschino cherries being deemed purely decorative (rather than food) items and regulated as if they were not meant for human consumption, allowing them to continue to be manufactured with a dye that has since been banned for use in consumable products: It is broadly true the federal standards defining maraschino cherries shifted in the post-Prohibition era. In 1912 the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) specifically defined maraschino cherries as marasca cherries preserved in maraschino (a form of liqueur) and required similar products made with other types of cherries and/or liqueurs be labeled as imitation maraschino cherries. By 1940, however, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had revised that definition to pertain to any red-dyed cherries impregnated with sugar and flavored with oil of bitter almonds: Although it might seem intuitive this change was necessitated because the Prohibition-era ban on alcohol sales made the original form of maraschino cherries an illegal product, manufacturers were using all sorts of things other than alcohol to make maraschino cherries long before Prohibition was enacted in 1920 (which is why the USDA had taken the step of defining exactly what they were back in 1912), and the FDA didn't redefine them as a non-alcoholic product until 1940, seven years after the end of Prohibition. It is also true after the FDA initially banned the use of Red No. 4. as a color additive in food, they allowed its continued use in maraschino cherries beginning in the mid-1960s. However, the FDA banned that coloring again in 1976 (along with Red No. 2, which was also commonly used as a coloring for maraschino cherries), and Red No. 4. may now be used only in externally applied drugs and cosmetics. There is no exception allowing its use in maraschino cherries. The FDA requires the ingredients labels on containers of maraschino cherries must include a declaration of the presence of the artificial coloring: As can be seen from those labels, nearly all maraschino cherries sold in the U.S. are now manufactured with Red No. 40 (also known as Allura red), a coloring additive that is FDA-approved for use in food, drugs and cosmetics: Red No. 40 is approved as a food colorant in both the U.S. and the European Union (EU), although a few EU member nations (Denmark, Belgium, France, and Switzerland) have banned its use. Some confusion may stem from the fact that natural Red No. 4 (also known as carmine or cochineal) is still widely used in the U.S. as a coloring additive in food products (potentially including maraschino cherries), but the original Red No. 4 and natural Red No. 4 are chemically two very different substances. The latter is FDA-approved for use in human food (and, somewhat controversially, is made from the crushed carcasses of a particular South and Central American insect). So just which red food dyes are unquestionably safe? As Joan Callahan summed up the issue in 50 Health Scares that Fizzled:
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