UK
Food Products Withdrawn Due to Illegal Para Red
By Food Standards Agency
May 8, 2005, 19:40

The latest products are being withdrawn from sale by the companies concerned. They are in addition to the 35 issued on 5 May 2005.

The Agency's advice to consumers remains the same. The amounts of Para Red found in the spices are very low. At the levels found, the risk from eating any of these foods is very small, but as a precaution it would be sensible not to eat them.

The affected foods are listed below. If you have any of them at home you can contact the store, or the manufacturer you bought it from, for a refund.

These latest products were made using the same batch of contaminated spices as those products identified yesterday (5 May) by the Agency. They were all made using contaminated spices supplied by Lion Foods in the UK.

The Agency will continue to work with the UK food industry to establish whether any other companies have been supplied with contaminated spices.

This list will be updated as the Agency is informed of further affected products and people should also look out for in-store notices and other publicity about affected products.

Full product list
This list is based on information provided to us by retailers.

If you have concerns as to whether a product in your possession is in fact a product on this list, please contact the retailer concerned.

This list may be updated as more information becomes available.

Date of Issue 5 May 2005, 17.00
Product Size Product Type Best Before Date or Use By Dates
1 Asda Chinese Style Curry Cooking Sauce 560g Cooking Sauce Best Before 14/4/2006 and Best Before 16/4/2006
2 Asda Tex Mex Hot Chilli Sauce 570g Cooking Sauce Best Before 22/3/2006
3 Co-op Hoi Sin Cook-in Sauce 460g Cooking Sauce Best Before End Apr 2006, with Lot Code 5109S
4 Co-op Spicy Sichuan Cook-in Sauce 440g Cooking Sauce Best Before End Apr 2006, with Lot Code 5109S
5 Co-op Hot Chilli Cook-in Sauce 440g Cooking Sauce Best Before End Apr 2006, with Lot Code 5101S
6 Co-op Ground Paprika 46g Spice Best Before End Feb 2007, with lot code 5075
7 Iceland Tikka cooking sauce 450g Cooking Sauce Best Before 14th April 2006
8 Sainsbury's Moroccan Chicken Snack Salad 200g Chilled Salad Snack Use By 9th, Use By 10th & Use By 11th May 2005
9 Tesco Korma Curry Sauce 715g Cooking Sauce Best Before End April 2006 and Best Before End March 2006
10 Tesco Korma Curry Sauce 500g Cooking Sauce Best Before End April 2006 and Best Before End March 2006
11 Tesco Healthy Living Korma Curry Sauce 500g Cooking Sauce Best Before End April 2006
12 Tesco Healthy Living Tikka Masala Curry Sauce 500g Cooking Sauce Best Before End April 2006 and Best Before End March 2006
13 Tesco Tikka Masala Curry Sauce 500g Cooking Sauce Best Before End April 2006 and Best Before End March 2006
14 Tesco Tikka Masala Curry Sauce 715g Cooking Sauce Best Before End April 2006
15 Tesco Finest Soft cheese & salmon Terrine lunch selection 152.5g Chilled Pate Up to and including Use by 18 May 2005
16 Tesco Finest Vintage Cheddar & Farmhouse style pate. Lunch selection 152.5g Chilled Pate and Cheese Up to and including Use by 18 May 2005
17 Tesco Finest Crab Terrine 120g Chilled Pate up to and including Use by 24 May 2005
18 Tesco Finest Salmon Terrine 120g Chilled Pate Up to and including Use by 24 May 2005
19 Tesco Mexican Style Chilli Bean Pate 115g Chilled Pate Up to and including Use by 1 June 2005
20 Tesco Finest Farmhouse style Pate with Black Galloway Ale 145g Chilled Pate Up to and including Use by 26 May 2005
21 Tesco Finest Smoked Duck Pate with Pear Jelly 145g Chilled Pate Up to and including Use by 19 May 2005
22 Tesco Farmhouse Style Pate Deli Chilled Pate Up to and including Use by 24 May 2005
23 Waitrose Pheasant Pat� 175g Chilled Pat� Use by 18th May up to and including Use by 25th May 2005
24 Waitrose Salmon Terrine 175g Chilled Pat� Use by 23rd May up to and including Use by 8th June 2005
25 Waitrose Smoked Duck & Apple Pat� 175g Chilled Pat� Use by 17th May up to and including Use by 8th June 2005
26 Waitrose Wild Mushroom Pat� 175g Chilled Pat� Use by 20th May up to and including Use by 7th June 2005
27 Waitrose Entertaining. Smoked Duck & Apple Pat� 500g Chilled Pat� Use by 19th May 2005
28 Waitrose Entertaining. Kiln Roasted Salmon 500g Chilled Pat� Use by 19th May 2005
29 Waitrose Entertaining. Chicken & Calvados Pat� 500g Chilled Pat� Use by 6th June 2005
30 Waitrose Entertaining. Wild Mushroom Pat� 500g Chilled Pat� Use by 7th June 2005
31 Waitrose Deli Duck Champagne & Truffle Pat� 1Kg Chilled Pat� Use by 17th May up to and including Use by 8th June 2005
32 Waitrose Deli Game & Hawthorne Pat� 1 Kg Chilled Pat� Use by 20th May up to and including Use by 4th June 2005
33 Waitrose Deli Salmon & Lemon Thyme Pat� 1 Kg Chilled Pat� Use by 23rd May up to and including Use by 9th June 2005
34 Waitrose Deli Woodland Mushroom Pat� 1 Kg Chilled Pat� Use by 26th May 2005
35 Waitrose Deli Chicken & Calvados Pat� 1 Kg Chilled Pat� Use by 27th May up to and including Use by 6th June 2005
Date of Issue 6 May 2005, 15.40
Products Size Product Type Best Before Date or Use By Dates
36 Castle MacLellan. Orkney Crab P�t� with Cr�me Fraiche and Dijon Mustard 113g P�t� First Use By Date 27/05/2005 Last Use By Date 18/06/2005
37 Castle MacLellan. Oven Roasted Red Pepper P�t� with Cous Cous & Coriander 113g P�t� First Use By Date 29/05/2005 Last Use By Date 16/06/2005
38 Castle MacLellan. Scottish Smoked Salmon P�t� with Horseradish & Lemon Juice 113g P�t� First Use By Date 27/05/2005 Last Use By Date 14/06/2005
39 Castle MacLellan. Rannoch Smoked Duck P�t� with Bramley Apple Jelly 113g P�t� First Use By Date 29/05/2005 Last Use By Date 14/06/2005
40 Castle MacLellan. Spiced Vegetable P�t� with Galloway Chutney 113g P�t� First Use By Date 29/05/2005 Last Use By Date 05/06/2005
41 Makro. Aro Spicy Burger Sauce with Sugar and Sweetener 1 litre Sauce April-06
42 Meridian Tikka Masala Sauce. Free from gluten, wheat and dairy 350g Sauce July-06
43 Somerfield. Spicy Szechuan Stir Fry Sauce 210g Sauce April-06
44 Somerfield. Good Intentions Tikka Masala Sauce 435g Sauce April-06
45 Somerfield. Indian Tikka Masala Sauce 440g Sauce April-06
46 Weight Watchers. Farmhouse Style P�t� 113g P�t� First Use By Date 28/05/2005 Last Use By Date 19/06/2005
47 Weight Watchers. Spicy Bean P�t� 113g P�t� First Use By Date 29/05/2005 Last Use By Date 17/06/2005

Product list 5 May 2005 - Excel format
Product list 5 May 2005 - PDF format

Background
The contamination of spices with illegal dyes is a European-wide issue and the Agency has been pressing the European Commission to lead a co-ordinated approach to the issue. The Commission will hold a meeting with member states on Tuesday 10 May to consider the best way to tackle the problem.

The Agency�s Director of Food Safety Dr Andrew Wadge said: 'Para Red, like Sudan I, is an illegal dye that should not be in food. People understandably don�t expect or want it to be in their food. At the levels being found the risk is likely to be very small indeed, but it is right that food businesses are removing these products from sale.

'We are pleased that the European Commission is going to develop a European-wide approach to tackling this issue. Concerted action across Europe is the most effective way forward.'

Para Red is an industrial dye that is not permitted for use in food. It is chemically similar to Sudan I, a dye that was implicated in the contamination of other food products in February. The Agency�s independent scientific experts advise that it would be prudent to assume that Para Red, like Sudan I, could be a genotoxic carcinogen, which means it could cause cancer by damaging DNA, and so exposure to it should be as low as reasonably practical.

The contaminated spice was supplied by Spanish company, Ramon Sabater, and is believed to originate in Uzbekistan. The spice was imported into the UK by Lion Foods who supplied a number of companies. Following confirmation of contamination the FSA issued notices to the companies concerned that the products should be recalled on Tuesday 3 May. The companies concerned have been co-operating with the FSA in compiling and checking product lists since then.

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