تل الورد
04-03-2006, 09:54 PM
Risk to health posed by Sudan 1
Dipesh Gadher
شباب هاي مقاله
ركزوا فيها ع الاشياء اللي بلونها لكم
What is Sudan 1?
Sudan 1 is a synthetically produced red dye normally used for colouring solvents, oils, waxes, petrol and shoe and floor polishes.
It is rated a “class three” carcinogen, or cancer-causing agent, by the International Agency for Research on Cancer and has been banned from use as a food additive in Britain and the rest of the European Union since 1995. America banned its use in 1918.
Sudan 1 is genotoxic, which means it can damage cellular DNA if consumed. Laboratory tests have shown it to cause cancerous liver tumours in mice, rats and rabbits.
How has it got into the food chain now?
Sudan 1 is used to colour some chilli powders produced in India and exported around the world.
Since July 2003, chilli powder imported into Britain has had to be certified free of the dye, but the batch at the centre of this scandal is thought to have arrived before then.
It passed through at least two suppliers in Britain before ending up with Premier Foods, a large food manufacturer which inadvertently used the chilli powder to produce a batch of Crosse & Blackwell Worcester sauce. This sauce, in turn, has been used as an ingredient in a wide range of other products.
What food products are affected?
More than 350 different products contain the illegal powder. Many are ready-made meals such as shepherd’s pie, pasta bake, chicken wings, sausage casserole, pizza and chilli con carne.
The list of affected products includes 68 own-label lines from Asda, 55 from Waitrose, 45 from Morrisons, 42 from Sainsbury’s, 39 from Tesco, 26 from Somerfield, 15 from Marks & Spencer and 14 from Iceland.
A number of products made by British food companies have also been contaminated. They include three flavours of Unilever’s Pot Noodle brand, products from Heinz and WeightWatchers and a low-fat caesar salad dressing made for McDonald’s. The full list of affected foods can be found at www.food.gov.uk.
What is the health risk?
Although the effect of Sudan 1 on humans has not been tested in clinical trials, scientists are in no doubt that it is a carcinogen. It is not possible to quantify precisely the risk it poses to humans.
However, the Food Standards Agency says that at the levels which are present in the affected food products in the current scandal, the risk of anyone contracting cancer specifically because of it are small.
If people have any of the affected products they are advised to destroy them or contact the store where they bought them for a refund.
What is being done to tackle the problem?
The scandal prompted the largest recall of food products in British history. All affected items are being removed from supermarket ****ves. The Food Standards Agency is working with the food industry and local authorities to trace any other products which might be contaminated.
Concerns have been raised about why the public was *****ed to the problem only last Friday. The agency knew on February 7 that Sudan 1 may have entered the food chain after routine tests by an Italian company on a batch of Crosse & Blackwell Worcester sauce.
The Food Standards Agency was set up as an independent watchdog after the BSE debacle.
What measures are in place to stop this happening again?
Since July 2003 — following the discovery of traces of Sudan 1 in chilli powder samples in France — all dried and crushed or ground chilli coming into the EU must be accompanied by a certificate showing that it has been tested and found to be free of the illegal dye.
Any consignment that does not have a certificate is detained for tests and destroyed if it contains Sudan 1. But chilli powder has a long ****f life and some of the batches now in Britain arrived before the testing regime was introduced.
والله يحميكم
Dipesh Gadher
شباب هاي مقاله
ركزوا فيها ع الاشياء اللي بلونها لكم
What is Sudan 1?
Sudan 1 is a synthetically produced red dye normally used for colouring solvents, oils, waxes, petrol and shoe and floor polishes.
It is rated a “class three” carcinogen, or cancer-causing agent, by the International Agency for Research on Cancer and has been banned from use as a food additive in Britain and the rest of the European Union since 1995. America banned its use in 1918.
Sudan 1 is genotoxic, which means it can damage cellular DNA if consumed. Laboratory tests have shown it to cause cancerous liver tumours in mice, rats and rabbits.
How has it got into the food chain now?
Sudan 1 is used to colour some chilli powders produced in India and exported around the world.
Since July 2003, chilli powder imported into Britain has had to be certified free of the dye, but the batch at the centre of this scandal is thought to have arrived before then.
It passed through at least two suppliers in Britain before ending up with Premier Foods, a large food manufacturer which inadvertently used the chilli powder to produce a batch of Crosse & Blackwell Worcester sauce. This sauce, in turn, has been used as an ingredient in a wide range of other products.
What food products are affected?
More than 350 different products contain the illegal powder. Many are ready-made meals such as shepherd’s pie, pasta bake, chicken wings, sausage casserole, pizza and chilli con carne.
The list of affected products includes 68 own-label lines from Asda, 55 from Waitrose, 45 from Morrisons, 42 from Sainsbury’s, 39 from Tesco, 26 from Somerfield, 15 from Marks & Spencer and 14 from Iceland.
A number of products made by British food companies have also been contaminated. They include three flavours of Unilever’s Pot Noodle brand, products from Heinz and WeightWatchers and a low-fat caesar salad dressing made for McDonald’s. The full list of affected foods can be found at www.food.gov.uk.
What is the health risk?
Although the effect of Sudan 1 on humans has not been tested in clinical trials, scientists are in no doubt that it is a carcinogen. It is not possible to quantify precisely the risk it poses to humans.
However, the Food Standards Agency says that at the levels which are present in the affected food products in the current scandal, the risk of anyone contracting cancer specifically because of it are small.
If people have any of the affected products they are advised to destroy them or contact the store where they bought them for a refund.
What is being done to tackle the problem?
The scandal prompted the largest recall of food products in British history. All affected items are being removed from supermarket ****ves. The Food Standards Agency is working with the food industry and local authorities to trace any other products which might be contaminated.
Concerns have been raised about why the public was *****ed to the problem only last Friday. The agency knew on February 7 that Sudan 1 may have entered the food chain after routine tests by an Italian company on a batch of Crosse & Blackwell Worcester sauce.
The Food Standards Agency was set up as an independent watchdog after the BSE debacle.
What measures are in place to stop this happening again?
Since July 2003 — following the discovery of traces of Sudan 1 in chilli powder samples in France — all dried and crushed or ground chilli coming into the EU must be accompanied by a certificate showing that it has been tested and found to be free of the illegal dye.
Any consignment that does not have a certificate is detained for tests and destroyed if it contains Sudan 1. But chilli powder has a long ****f life and some of the batches now in Britain arrived before the testing regime was introduced.
والله يحميكم