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Food Products: Para Red

My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health (Caroline Flint) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement. I have been advised by the Food Standards Agency that on 5 May the agency issued advice to consumers not to eat foods that had inadvertently been contaminated with an illegal dye, Para Red. This advice follows previous action taken by the Food Standards Agency to ensure the withdrawal of a range of products containing chilli powder since July 2003 which had been contaminated with a different illegal dye, Sudan I. Para Red, like Sudan I, could contribute to an increased risk of cancer. At the levels found the risk is likely to be very small; however, it is sensible to avoid eating any more foods contaminated with this substance. In addition to the list of affected products published on 5 May, further updates were published on 6 and 11   May bringing the total number to 69. The agency acted with all possible speed to inform consumers which products were affected so retailers and consumers could act on this advice. All of the products have now been withdrawn. Food companies have a legal obligation to remove from sale products that do not meet food safety requirements and to inform the Food Standards Agency and local authorities, and advise consumers about withdrawal. The contamination of spices with illegal dyes is a European-wide issue. The Food Standards Agency has therefore been pressing for a harmonised approach to this problem to be adopted throughout the European Union. A meeting of the EU Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health was held on 10 May in Brussels specifically to discuss the issue of illegal dyes. A number of initiatives were agreed. These include a review by the European Food Safety Authority of the toxicological data available on Para Red and other similar dyes, and the establishment of a working group to develop testing methods for these substances and make these available to all member states. The United Kingdom will co-ordinate this working group. The European Commission made clear at the meeting that the presence of these dyes in food is not acceptable at any level. The Food Standards Agency has also announced that it is setting up a task force on incidents. The aim of this task force is to consider ways of strengthening controls in the food chain in order to reduce the likelihood of future contamination incidents occurring and to identify the most effective ways of managing such incidents if they occur. The task force will report to the board of the Food Standards Agency. The Food Standards Agency also plans to set up a separate, independent review of the circumstances and actions surrounding the Sudan I incident itself. This will not take place, however, until investigations by local authorities of some of the key players involved, which are currently under way, have been completed and any resulting prosecutions concluded, so as not to prejudice the outcomes. This may delay the start of the review for up to 18 months.