A Clacton firm is among those at the centre of a nationwide health scare involving a cancer-causing food dye.
East Anglian Food Products has been named as one possible source for the dye, known as Sudan 1, which has been added to chilli powder.
A full investigation has been launched by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and supermarkets and food manufacturers have been ordered to withdraw hundreds of products from sale.
The red dye used for colouring solvents, waxes, petrol and shoe polishes is banned from being used in foods in the UK and all EU countries.
It got into a batch of Crosse and Blackwell Worcester sauce made by Premier Foods and was then added to hundreds of supermarket products.
An FSA spokesman said that Premier Foods got the chilli powder from Essex-based company Unbar Rothon.
However, the Billericay firm stated it had been supplied by a third company, which was East Anglian Food Ingredients which operates from the Gorse Lane industrial estate in Clacton.
A spokesman for East Anglian Food Ingredients said it was not in a position to make a comment.
"We will be making a full statement about the situation later today," I cannot say anything else about it at this stage," he said.
It is believed that East Anglian Food Ingredients will deny responsibility and claims to have bought the contaminated product from another firm.
A list of affected foods can be found at www.food.gov. uk/sudanlist
Published Tuesday, February 22, 2005
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