Food scare costs company £5,000

The illegal dye was found in curry powder supplied by the company

An Essex company which has been fined for selling curry powder containing the cancer-causing illegal dye Sudan 1 says safety is its top priority.

East Anglian Food Ingredients, of Clacton, was fined £2,000 and told to pay £3,000 costs after admitting the offence before Colchester magistrates.

When the problem came to light last summer remaining stock was recalled.

After the hearing the company said it was committed to "putting food safety at the forefront of its business".

East Anglian Food Ingredients' (EAFI) offence under the Food Safety Act 1990 concerned the sale of food not of a substance demanded by the consumer.

Food companies have a legal responsibility to ensure that the food they sell is safe and fit for human consumption David Statham, of the Food Standards Agency

It related to Sudan 1 contamination of Hot Curry Powder sold to HP Foods in July last year.

David Statham, director of enforcement at the Food Standards Agency, welcomed the prosecution.

"Food companies have a legal responsibility to ensure that the food they sell is safe and fit for human consumption," he said.

In a statement on its website, the Trading Standards tests detected the presence of Sudan 1 at one part per million.

"Even if the product had reached the general public, which it did not, there is no suggestion of any possible risk of adverse effect to human health at such levels.

"EAFI is committed to putting food safety at the forefront of its business with emphasis on quality control systems, vetting of suppliers and product testing which now benefits from the greatly advanced testing accuracy which has been developed since the contamination scare in question."