Ten tonnes of chili powder imported from China have been found to contain industrial Sudan red dyes and would be destroyed, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday.
Sudan reds are industrial dyes normally used for coloring plastics and other synthetic materials. They are classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as Group 3 indirect carcinogens and are banned in food many countries, including Taiwan.
Batches of imported chili powder have been found to contain Sudan reds since January, leading to expanded inspections and the removal of food products that used the tainted products.
Photo courtesy of the Food and Drug Administration
The FDA in December last year increased border inspection frequency for chili powder imported from China to batch-by-batch.
On March 13, it announced stricter measures, including that it would destroy food products found to contain Sudan reds upon discovery instead of returning them.
In yesterday’s announcement it said that two batches of chili powder — one of 7 tonnes and one of 3 tonnes — imported by the same company in Chiayi County were found to contain Sudan III.
FDA Deputy Director-General Lin Chin-fu (林金富) said the chili powder would be destroyed according to regulations and the manufacturer would be temporarily suspended from applying to import chili powder.
From Sept. 18 last year to Monday last week, 154 batches, totaling 1,052.74 tonnes, of chili powder from China had been tested at the border, with 26, or 16.9 percent, failing inspection for having Sudan III or excessive pesticide residues, FDA data showed.
It also said that 17 other items failed border inspections, including disposable cake plates and utensils, frozen chopped onions and green oatmeal extract from China; wood spatulas, cutting boards and soy sauce from South Korea; and chili sauce, chilled gray grouper and chilled rock fish from Indonesia.
Other items included dried Pacific saury and bamboo chopsticks from Japan; soup powder from Vietnam; frozen crabs from Thailand; grapes from India; oysters from the US; and grapes from Peru.
The chili sauce from Indonesia, labeled “Sambel Asli Cap Ibu Jari Jempol,” failed an inspection with sulfur dioxide residue of 0.08g/kg, exceeding the maximum limit of 0.03g/kg, the FDA said, adding that the product would be destroyed or returned.
Lin said that 613 batches of the chili sauce have been imported in the past six months, 22 of which have failed the inspection — a failure rate of 3.59 percent, so the inspection frequency of the chili sauce imported by the company has been increased to batch-by-batch.
Additional reporting by CNA
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