Regarding Red Dye: Synthetic red iron is not same as red 40. It is Iron-Oxide
& is used mostly in pharmacy rx's. However, don't assume all Rx's are that. I
think it's terrible that FDA hasn't jumped in & slapped their hands & said ALL
that contain red should be I.D.'ed. I took Ambien 5mg for sleep & didn't! Yes
it was pale pink & I thought it was Iron Oxide. Even my name in their system
is flagged not to fill before pink, red, etc. is ck'd. It was red 40. I was told it was my fault that I didn't look at color before taking hm. I argued & Dr. called
in 10mg `white' to be cut. Another is Premarin .625, all red-gel capsules,
an anti-fungal `Diflucan' & some BP meds. FDA said that info is to be on bottle from (company) but upon request, U must be given a hand out that
describes med & colorant. If not avail., then it's still up to us to ask someone
their to research color on the system link they have. If they R busy & U see
it's salmon-color perhaps, they can't stop everything to ck. so U leave rx &
ck. next day. If Rx is called in, always save the time & ask `what color is it'?
Safe colors are: Iron Oxide, Carmeen & Annatto. This has been a problem for
years. I've found info on `suspect of red dye' reaction from hand outs dating
back 25 years. Co's don't care. I called the co. that made my new BP med &
told them that hand out didn't comply w/ FDA & pharmacy didn't have a submission to link. 1 hr. long distance & 5 days later, they called saying it was Carmeen. They lied, it was Oxide & yellow. If rx leaves the bldg, it's now
yours. They can't take back due to a tampering law. FDA has a site so jump
in & go complain. People have died from this. We should be able to rely on
our pharmacies.