EU sets strict limits for banned dyes in spicy food
EU authorities have set strict limits for a group of illegal dyes in food that may cause an increased risk of cancer, officials said on Wednesday.
Any products containing higher amounts of the industrial colourings - the Sudan and Para Red dyes - must be withdrawn from the market. Detection limits are set at between 0.5 and 1.0 milligrams per kilogram, but the aim is to lower this level.
Sudan dyes are a group of four red dyes used for colouring solvents, oils, waxes, petrol, and shoe and floor polishes. They have a carcinogenic effect and a potential risk of genotoxicity.
Less research has been done on the chemically similar Para Red but this dye is also regarded as a cancer risk. The dyes tend to be found in spicy foods.
Scientists from four EU countries will work together to improve analysis methods to detect the dyes and should be able to present the results within two weeks.
They will be led by Britain, the centre of a February scare over the Sudan 1 dye that saw major supermarket chains withdraw hundreds of spicy foods - chili powders, ready-made meals, barbecue-flavoured rice cakes - from their shelves.
“At the moment, the Europe-wide limit of detection is between 0.5 and 1.0 milligrams per kilogram, and anything above that has to be withdrawn,” a European Commission official said. “The UK has a more sophisticated method to detect below that (level), so that’s why they are coordinating with the other member states to refine the method,” he told.
But if an EU member state had reason to think a particular food posed a risk to human health due to the presence of one of these dyes, they would be free to withdraw it from the market.
The countries involved in the laboratory testing to improve detection methods for the dyes are France, Spain and the Netherlands. Germany may also participate at a later date.
In February, the discovery of the Sudan 1 dye in a batch of chili powder used by Premier Foods to make Worcester sauce led to Britain’s biggest food recall.
UK authorities said the sauce contained 3 milligrams/kg of Sudan 1 dye, while the chili powder used to make it - imported from India - contained the dye at a level of 80 mg/kg.
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