Sudan 1 food scare:
Food industry again guilty of criminal contamination

The Greens/EFA Group in the European Parliament have hit out at a culture of tolerance among European regulators that has allowed the food industry to get away with compromising public health for quick profits, and has resulted in yet more dangerous substances being introduced into food destined for public consumption.

Speaking as news that the number of products affected by the carcinogenic Sudan 1 dye had risen to 474 and that 12 EU nations were said to have been affected by products contaminated by the dye, UK Green MEP Jean Lambert said:

"Member States must crack down on dangerous and disgusting practises in the food industry. Following the dioxin scandal in Belgium in 1999 and the details exposed by the BBC in 2003 which showed Dutch processing plants pumping water and hydrolysed proteins from beef and pig offal into chicken breasts, the response from regulators has been inadequate. In all of these cases industry was guilty of bulking up food with substances unfit for public consumption in order to wring extra profit margins from their output. These practises must be stopped. Companies' corporate social responsibility policies should ensure that there is quality control at every stage of the supply chain."

Fellow UK Green MEP Caroline Lucas added:

"The food we eat is increasingly processed, which gives industry more opportunities to cut corners with quality. Industrial consolidation also means that once something like Sudan 1 enters the food chain it can – and in this case has – spread very quickly both inside and outside of the UK. Food safety regulators in Britain and the rest of the EU should be totally focused on protecting public health. But in failing to detect and prevent previously known about contaminants from entering the food chain, they have no reasonable claim to enjoy consumer confidence. Regulators must create conditions in which industry will not attempt to cut corners with public safety."

[ENDS]