Sudan 1 food question

[thatguy5]

I'm just wondering, is it known how long food thats on the offical list has been affected? i mean has sudan 1 been in the foods listed for weeks, months or years?

[sib444]

If you go to the trading standards website the answers are all there. There is a whole list of food products which are contaminated.

[brachiopod]

Last year there was an 'incident' of an imported batch of chilli powder that contained Sudan1. The batch was largely used for 'packaged chilli powder' ie the powdered red stuff you buy in a bag to add to your chilli con carne. It was quickly recalled.

In this case, the batch has gone into the food processing chain, and thus used in many different products, and resulting in this big food scare that the meeja loves to whip up.

It does raise the question how did this batch of chilli get past the testing stage, as is supposed to happen.

However, to put it all in context;

It is legal to use Sudan1 as a colourant in other parts of the world.

The potential amount present in many of the products on the 'recalled list' would be minute.

(If you think about it, you add a pinch of the dye to your chilli powder to make it nice and red. You add a pinch of this chilli powder to make your Worcester Sauce. You add a dash of Worcester Sauce to make your plastic ready-micro-meal. The concentration is reduced at every stage.)

Although Sudan1 may be a 'potential carcinogen', so are many components of products we use in and around our homes. From synthetic foams in our sofas to cleaning materials.

The risk from this latest scare would be insignificant, despite what the papers like to say. The high levels of fat and salt in processed food poses the greater risk to our health than any contaminant.

[secretspirit]

Before it was banned it was probably in everything and that was only about 10 years ago.