Unanswered questions remain following the brouhaha after the Sunday Times again found that banned industrial chemical dyes in certain chilli condiments.
The exposé prodded supermarkets into pulling the products from their shelves, while blustering that the blame lay with manufacturers. Now, it turns out, it may have been a false alarm — at least in the case of Robertsons peri-peri, which was given a clean bill of health by the Health Department on Thursday.
The department is, however, still investigating spice manufacturer Osman’s, a major spice merchant.
The Sunday Times quoted a Robertsons spokesperson as saying that it purchased most of its chillis from the Indian chilli board.
The discovery raises the question of how the Sudan dye — used to tint petrol, candles and floor polish, among other things — ended up in the chilli products.
It is also worth keeping in mind that while no one would knowingly use a tainted chilli product, the risks associated with it appear to be quite small, and the Health Department has been quoted as saying it is not high on its scale of food-safety risks.
The CEO of the Consumer Goods Council of South Africa, August Iwanski, told this online newspaper that he had “no doubt” it was accidental. “People don’t do this intentionally,” he said.
Iwanski’s assertion appears unlikely. Sudan dyes are probably added to chilli to maintain the colour, as the price of chilli powder is linked to the intensity of the colour.
So, while consumers ponder all the media hype surrounding the issue, they may well be advised to take the safest course and grow their own.
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