FDA officials have telegraphed the decision for months. While the agency has long said that it did not think evidence of Red 3 causing cancer applied to humans, officials said their hand was forced by a law requiring the agency to pull additives that are cancerous in animals.

Studies show that high doses could cause cancer in rats, but the regulators maintain that no evidence exists that ingesting the coloring causes cancer in humans.

Red No. 3, chemically known as erythrosine, was first introduced into foods in 1907. Companies subsequently added it to thousands of products to boost their colors over the decades, often in snacks like ice cream and candy marketed directly to children.

The new proposal is the result of three years of research by FDA scientists, who studied similar front-of-package labeling systems used in countries like Canada, the United Kingdom, and Chile.

The labels will also include new information about the product's level of saturated fat, sodium and added sugars, categorizing them as “low,” “medium,” or “high.”Start the day smarter. Get all the news you need in your inbox each morning.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration hopes "front-of-package" labeling will better improve the American population's health, the FDA announced.