Food Standards Agency
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Listen to this siteTuesday 17 January 2006
Guidance notes intended to help food companies that use spices to minimise the risk of products adulterated with non-permitted colours entering the food chain.
The guidance notes have been distributed to those local authorities involved in the ongoing sampling programme of non-permitted colours in spices.
Since 2003 legislation has been in place to ensure chilli and curry powder imported into the EU is not contaminated with Sudan dyes. Under European Commission Decisions 2003/460/EC and 2004/92/EC, dried and ground or crushed chilli (genus Capsicum ) and curry powders imported into the EU must be accompanied by a certificate of analysis showing that it has been tested and found to be free of the illegal dyes Sudan I, II, III and IV. Decision 2005/402/EC carries forward the requirements in the earlier decisions (they are revoked) and extends them to include curcumin (turmeric).
The following information is intended to help food companies that use spices to minimise the risk of contaminated products entering the food chain.
When dried and crushed or ground chilli (genus Capsicum), including curry powder and curcumin (turmeric) intended for human consumption is imported from countries outside of the EU, it is a legal requirement that they are accompanied by a certificate of analysis showing them to be free of Sudan I - IV. The certificate of analysis should be an original document and the competent authority of the exporting country should endorse the certificate of analysis. This requirement does not apply to composite products such as sauces or chutneys containing chilli, curry powder and curcumin.
In addition to the legislation on import of spices which requires enhanced testing and quality controls by the business, random sampling on spice based products will continue to be carried out by Local Authorities as part of their routine surveillance activities. The collected samples will be tested by a High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) method until further guidance on methods of analysis is issued. In addition to Sudan I-IV, all spices (chilli powder, curry powder, paprika, turmeric, and seasonings) and foods containing these spices put in the food chain should be free of the following other illegal dyes:
Butter yellow
Metanil yellow
Sudan Red B
Sudan Red 7 B
Orange G
Rhodamine B
Orange II
Para Red
Toluidine Red
Sudan Red G
Spices should also be free of Annatto, Bixin and Norbixin, which are permitted food colours not allowed to be used in spices.
For all spice products that include chilli, curry and turmeric bought for repackaging and/or for direct sale, the following information should be made available for inspection by enforcement officers:
Country of origin of product
Batch code
The type of spice supplied/ordered/imported
Amount of product
Date product received
Contact details of your supplier and persons you supply
If contamination is found through the company's own tests, your local authority Trading Standards/Environmental Health Dept should be notified immediately. All the traceability information should be available and the importer/supplier/distributor should be notified immediately. Where a product has been found to be contaminated through the random testing programme or at the point of entry into the country, your local Trading Standards/Environmental Health Department will advise of appropriate action to be taken. The Local Authority will advise on the appropriate means of disposal.
(External) Commission Decision 2005/402/EC can be found on the European Commission website
Decision 2005/402/EC was implemented into law in England by (External) The Food (Chilli, Chilli Products, Curcuma and Palm Oil) (Emergency Control) (England) Regulations 2005 (SI 2005 / 1442) and by parallel legislation in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The legislation can be found on the Stationary Office website.
While this guidance is not legally binding, it does represent the considered views of the Food Standards Agency. However only the courts can give a definitive view on the law.
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