Inquiry into Sudan I scare urged

Hundreds of food products were recalled during the scare

A "speedy" inquiry should be launched into how potentially cancer-causing dye ended up in food products, MPs say.

Ministers were urged to investigate events behind the contamination of hundreds of products with Sudan I dye.

The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee said the government should establish how long the illegal product had been used in chilli powder.

The scare caused the recall of hundreds of processed food products in February, at a cost of millions of pounds.

Sudan I - normally used in shoe polish and other industrial products - was found in chilli powder used by Premier to make Crosse and Blackwell Worcester Sauce.

This was used in turn by manufacturers of large numbers of processed foods.

Whatever [nutritional] signposting system the government decides to adopt, the determining factor should be clarity, rather than comprehensiveness Select committee report

It has been shown to cause cancer in mice, but the risk to humans is thought to be extremely low.

The committee report said: "We are particularly concerned that the government should establish the length of time for which the adulteration of chilli powder is likely to have gone undetected and why UK authorities did not detect this adulteration in a product used so extensively in UK food processing."

Clear labelling

The committee also recommended that information about the nutritional content of all pre-packaged food be made compulsory.

It said supermarket chains should use their influence over suppliers to bring in better nutrition labelling.

It also supported clear labelling to help shoppers make healthy choices, and a public education programme to inform customers about the risks of too much sodium in food.

"Whatever signposting system the government decides to adopt, the determining factor should be clarity, rather than comprehensiveness," the report said.