Easter candy warning as report says marshmallow Peeps contain chemical linked to CANCER — and more than a BILLION of them will be eaten this Easter

A consumer watchdog is calling for Peeps to be pulled from shelves this year because they contain a chemical linked to cancer.

The radiant marshmallow chicks are a staple at Easter and Americans are expected to consume a billion of them this weekend.

But Consumer Reports, a nonprofit campaign group, is warning that certain flavors contain a chemical called red dye No. 3.

Since the early 1980s, studies have shown the additive can cause cancer in laboratory animals in very high doses, and has been linked to behavioral issues in children. 

More than 16,000 consumers have signed a petition sent to Just Born Quality Confections, the company behind Peeps, to strip the coloring agent from its products.

The consumer group said that the Food and Drug Association had ignored a letter with the same request last month.

‘Parents should know that the purple and pink colored Peeps they may be putting in their kids’ Easter basket are made with an ingredient that is a known carcinogen,’ Michael Hansen, a senior staff scientist for Consumer Reports, said in a press release. 

‘Just Born Quality Confections should stop making its iconic marshmallow treats with this dangerous food chemical since other less risky alternatives are readily available,’ Hansen said. 

The FDA is ‘actively reviewing’ the petition. 

Red dye No. 3, also known as erythrosine, is an artificial compound primarily used for food coloring. 

In 1990, the FDA banned red dye No. 3 from use in cosmetics due to a link to thyroid tumors in lab rats, though the dye still remains in nearly 3,000 foods in the U.S. It is one of the nine certified food additives used in foods such as ‘confections, beverages, cereals, ice cream cones, frozen dairy desserts, popsicles, frostings, & icings.’

The varieties containing red due No. 3 include the Pink Marshmallow Chicks and Bunnies, Lavender Marshmallow Chicks and Bunnies, Hot Tamales, Peeps Hot Tamales Marshmallow Chicks, Party Cake Peeps, Peeps Fruit Marshmallow Chicks and Peeps Wildberry Marshmallow Bunnies. 

The FDA has stated after its ban of red due No. 3 that the ‘risk of getting cancer from Red No. 3 is no larger than 1 in over 100,000 over a lifetime of consumption.’

There may also be a link between red dye No. 3 and hyperactivity and other  ‘nonbehavioral problems’ in kids, according to a 2021 report from the Ohio Environmental Health Association. 

Two studies found red dye No. 3 is in more than one in 10 candies in the US, and more than 80 percent of children under two had consumed it in the past two weeks.

Additionally, a Brazilian study found red dye No. 3 could cause toxic damage to DNA and causes permanent transmissible changes to strains as well.

The consumer group’s report comes on the heels of California lawmakers’ recent effort to ban food additives, including red dye No. 3, from candies such as Skittles and Sour Patch Kids.