Recently there has been product recalls in UK and EU countries due to the usage of illegal dyes Sudan 1 and Para red in Chilly products. Sudan dye is an orange-red powder; organic chemical derived from coal tar and belongs to the azo group. They are usually used for coloring oil, waxes, petrol, shoe and floor polishes. These dyes have shown to cause liver cancer, splenic fibrosis, bladder cancer and leukemia in rats. Azo dyes splits into amines after oral intake and so no tolerable dose can be laid down. The level of dye in Chilly powder is very low and so the risk is also low. There is no immediate illness and so there is no need to panic, but in principle the dye is harmful and so we should be cautious.

Sudan 1 was found added to chilly powder to give red color and products made from it like sauces, soups, salad dressings, Worcester sauce, takeaways, ready meals and restaurant meals will be affected. It doesn’t occur naturally and so is not found in fresh chilies or dried chilies. In UK the Sudan dye scare recorded the biggest food recall in history this February. Many cases of banned dyes in non refined palm oil have been identified and one case of turmeric also has been identified.

Para red or paranitraniline red is chemically similar to Sudan dyes and was discovered by Von gallois and Ullrich. Para red was found in Paprika powder Old El Paso Mexican dinner kit which has since been recalled. Tesco has recalled its barbeque flavored rice because they were found to contain traces of Sudan 1 and Para red. Bart spices have recalled its paprika jars on 29 th of April 2005.

After the directive of EC, all the affected products have to be removed from shelves.EC has raised alarm over two more textile dyes Rhodamine B ad orange 1 found in the chilly powder from Vietnam and Germany and Sumak (spice) used to flavor doner kebabs from turkey. The Food Standards Agency is further looking for the presence of banned dyes in spices such as turmeric curcumin, chili, paprika and cayenne pepper.