Chilli in Soup (B)

Abstract

A famous brand of sauce tested positive for Sudan I (a prohibited carcinogenic dye added for colour enhancement), which led to the biggest food products recall off the shelves in supermarkets and departmental stores of Britain. This brought to light that the mandatory testing of Sudan I by Spices Board of India (SBI) was unable to retain the brand equity and help confidence building in the EU. Apart from Sudan I, there was also need to test for Aflatoxins. Big exporters found the tests useless and small exporters remained the cause of worry for quality control. The case brings forth issues about better traceability of food chains, testing methods, statistical quality control, and alternative ways and means for packing. It also highlights issues that were overlooked by SBI, which escalated an anticipatable problem.