Brussels, 24/02/2005 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission and experts from the Member States, meeting in the standing committee on the food chain, debated the case of foodstuffs contaminated by Sudan 1 food colouring, notified on 18 February by the United Kingdom to the European Commission and the other Member States via the early-warning system. The warning relates to “Worcester sauce” and possibly to products containing it. The experts will try to pin it down.
After an initial summary of the situation on Tuesday in the early-warning system committee (where the UK provided information about the measures it has taken), the experts and the Commission will hear the details requested of the British authorities relating to the batch numbers and companies which have taken delivery of products from British exporters, to allow these companies to withdraw the products from the market.
Sudan 1 is a dye used in plastics but which is banned in food. At the moment, twelve countries may be affected (Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Spain, Greece, UK, France, Ireland, Italy, Malta, Portugal and Austria). In a press release, the Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection, Markos Kyprianou, criticised the fact that just eighteen months after the Commission's decision (of 18 June 2003) was adopted, whereby the EU may only import chilli sauces which have been tested and certified free of Sudan 1, operators had released some of their stocks onto the market. He points out that the Member States must monitor all products sold on their markets and take measures to oblige operators to respect their obligations.