Contaminated spices and palm oils
Thursday 17 August 2006
If you are importing spices from a non-European Union (EU) country you should contact the port in advance. There have been some problems with certain spices being contaminated.
The Local Authorities Co-ordinators of Regulatory Services (LACORS) published guidance in 2000 to food authorities on how best to deal with contaminated spices. See the LACORS website.
Dried chilli, chilli products, curry powder, turmeric and palm oils
From 25 January 2010 imports of certain feed and food of non-animal origin, from certain non-EU countries, that are considered to be 'high-risk' can only enter the UK through specific ports and airports approved as designated points of entry (DPEs) where official controls will be carried out. A 'high-risk' product is feed or food that is either a known, or an emerging, risk to public health. This may be due to the presence of contaminants such as Sudan dyes. Further information for business operators can be found at the link below.
Very low levels of contamination
An increasing number of instances have become known of spices or other food ingredients being contaminated with very low levels of illegal dyes. In these cases there is a strong suggestion that rather than being present as a result of deliberate adulteration, the dyes may be present at very low levels as a result of accidental contamination from the environment or from machinery used to process the spice or other ingredient.
Following an EU Standing Committee of the Food Chain and Animal Health (SCoFCAH) meeting on 23 June 2006, Port Health Authorities will continue to reject products if the presence of illegal dyes is discovered at or above the level of 0.5 parts per million (0.5ppm). However, should contamination be discovered below this limit, or if the analytical report required under Commission Decision 2005/402/EC shows that there is less that 0.5ppm of Sudan dyes I to IV, the consignment need not be rejected. The action limit should apply irrespective of whether the High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) or Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry/Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analytical methods have been used.
SCoFCAH, chaired by a European Commission representative and attended by representatives of EU Member States, meets normally twice a month, once on public health and once on animal health, to discuss any proposed legislation concerning the food supply chain.