Deadline today on sudan recall, or food firms face prosecution
product recall to date identifies two further foods contaminated
with the carcinogenic red food dye sudan 1, reports Lindsey
Partos.
Premier Foods informed shareholders today that its Branston Hot and Spicy Sweet Pickle and Branston Rich and Fruity Sauce are "at once" being recalled from the shelves.
The news comes a few days after the firm set off a chain recall reaction of over 420 well-known processed foods.
The recall was sparked off after chilli powder contaminated with the illegal Sudan 1 colour had been detected in the firm's Worcester sauce brand.
Used as both a tabletop sauce and food ingredient, the discovery prompted the UK's Food Standards Agency to take immediate action and pull all related products, such as Sainsburys pork sausages and Tesco's chicken and vegetable casserole, out of the consumers' reach.
Sudan 1 to IV are classified as carcinogens by the International Agency for Research on Cancer and are banned under European Union rules.
Since France alerted member states to the presence of an Indian-sourced chilli powder containing traces of sudan 1, the Commission requires that imports of chilli and chilli products - including curry powder - cross the EU border with a certificate that proves they are free of these chemical dyes.
Looking into how the contamination leaked into the food chain, Premier Foods said on Friday that it had certificates from its suppliers that guaranteed the chilli used was free of sudan 1.
If this is the case, another possibility could explain the contamination: that the stocks used in these latest formulations pre-date the EU ban.
Premier Foods confirmed to FoodNavigator.com that the stocks were brought in before July 2003.
Meanwhile, pressure on food makers and retailers to hunt and destroy all contaminated foods continues with the FSA setting a deadline for identification by today, Thursday morning.
"It is their legal responsibility to be checking their foods and to then come to us with any new information on contaminated food products," a spokesperson for the agency told FoodNavigator.com.
Food companies failing to do so face prosecution.
Local authorities, not the FSA, have the jurisdiction to fine companies if they find the food makers and shops have failed to track any contaminated food products.
Premier Foods said today that its Worcester sauce and the recalled Branston pickles brands each have annual sales of £1 million.
