JARS of extra hot chilli pickle found on sale in the North-East have proved to contain non-permitted food colour.
The 300gm Pran brand Naga Chilli Pickle (extra hot), with expiry dates on the lid of December 18, 2003, or June 2, 2004, have been withdrawn from shops where they are known to be on sale.
It follows tests on jars stocked at Asian food stores on Tyneside in routine checks by Newcastle City Council food safety officers.
They were found to contain Sudan 1 food colour, which is considered to be a genotoxic carcinogen, making the product unfit for human consumption.
It is manufactured in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka and it is believed the non-permitted food colouring is added to the raw chillis during processing.
Anyone who has bought the brand is advised to dispose of the jars.
Details of the findings have been passed on to the Food Standards Agency by the city council.
For further information and advice, call the council's food safety team manager, Doug Fox, on 0191-211 6133.
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