Sudan food recall grows
chain with the food watchdog last week highlighting a further batch
of products for recall.
Banned under European Union rules last year, the harmful Sudan I dye, also known as 'scarlet red', has since been found in a range of chilli powders and curry powders, as well as more than 200 food products ranging from pesto sauce to chicken tikka masala.
"This product appears to be distributed through direct van sales, where retailers who sell African or Afro-Caribbean food products are the main clients," said the Food Standards Agency of the latest recall, African Sun Pure Zomi and African Sun Palm Oil.
What started as a trickle in July last year - when the European Commission alerted Member States that products contaminated with Sudan I from India had been found in France - is rapidly turning into a river of food product recalls as the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) continues to unearth more potentially contaminated batches.
"We have undergone a constant process since July last year - tracing products throughout the chain and building up a picture of where contaminated products could have ended up," a spokesman for the UK's FSA recently told FoodNavigator.com.
Believed to cause cancer if consumed in large enough quantities, Sudan I is a forbidden colour under the Colours in Food Regulations 1995. In January this year a European Commission clampdown extended the rules on the illegal red chemical dyes to include curry powder.
The Commission now requires that imports of chilli and chilli products - including curry powder - cross the EU border with proof they are free of the illegal chemical dyes - Sudan I, Sudan II, Sudan III or Scarlet Red (Sudan IV) - classified as carcinogens by the International Agency for Research on Cancer.
According to the Indian Spice board, an estimated 500,000 tonnes of spices and herbs valued at €1.2 billion are traded each year around the globe - of which 46 per cent is supplied by India. The board, which regulates all exports, says it has the Sudan situation under control and four companies whose products fell foul of the testing procedures for the potential carcinogen have had their licences revoked.
