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Dept of Health

Answer

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps (a) his Department and (b) the Food Standards Agency has made to ensure that concerns about food which may contain Sudan 1 have been adequately disseminated to (i) local authority trading standards departments, (ii) environmental health departments, (iii) food retailers and (iv) caterers; [218327] (2) what assessment his Department has made of whether all food products containing Sudan 1 have been identified; [218457] (3) what action his Department has taken (a) to inform the public of the risks involved in consumption of products known to contain Sudan 1 dye and (b) to ensure that products are withdrawn from retail and catering outlets promptly; [218756] (4) what estimate his Department has made of the amount of food containing Sudan 1 dye which has not been withdrawn from retail and catering outlets. [218757] (5) what assessment he has made of the longer term consequences of the Sudan 1 incident, in relation to his Department's responsibilities for the overseeing of food production and processing. [218753] Miss Melanie Johnson: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has advised me that full information has been made available on its website of foods known to be contaminated with Sudan 1, and that this was provided to a number of stakeholder organisations to distribute to their members. In addition, the FSA has asked all local authorities to contact food businesses in their area to ensure the recall has been effective. In addition the FSA has held a number of meetings with stakeholders, including retailers, caterers and other trade associations. The FSA is working with manufacturers and local authorities to ensure that all foods known to be contaminated with Sudan 1 are removed from sale and information has been provided to consumers on these products. Since 1 January 2005 all food businesses are legally required to have in place systems to allow full traceability of ingredients and products. The FSA estimates that the majority of foods known to be contaminated with Sudan 1 have been withdrawn. The FSA is working with food companies and local authorities to verify that the recall has been fully effective. The FSA has responsibility for overseeing the safety of food in the United Kingdom. The FSA will be conducting a thorough and robust review of the incident which will be published.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

431 c1984-5W;431 c1976-7W; 218327;218457;218756;218757;218753

Session

2004-05

Subjects

Disclosure of information Catering Colourings Contamination Health hazards Food Local government Publicity Retail trade

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk