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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How convenient for the Department of Correctional Services to find that dangerous criminal Annanias Mathe had no inside help in escaping from C-Max prison. Only Mathe is blamed, and he’s already in jail. The report on the matter, now rejected by Parliament, must have crossed the desk of Correctional Services Minister Balfour. As minister, he should dig a little deeper. |
Most-read stories
March 1 to 7
1. Sudan dye found on Pick ‘n Pay, Shoprite shelves
Two major supermarkets have withdrawn six products contaminated with the cancer-causing Sudan chemical dyes, the Sunday Times reported.
2. New Afrikaner unity a call for leadership
Thousands of youngsters singing ‘De la Rey, De la Rey”, fabricated SMS warnings about Madiba’s supposed death, marches about crime and Afrikaans — is something happening among Afrikaners? Are we on the verge of a right-wing uprising?
3. Stop pretending ‘all is well in Zimbabwe’
Zambia broke the regional silence on Tuesday over the deteriorating political conditions in Zimbabwe, telling its counterparts in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to stop pretending “all is well in Zimbabwe”.
4. Motlanthe rides anti-Mbeki wave
Could African National Congress secretary general Kgalema Motlanthe be the next president of the ANC? There are signs that he could pull it off. Motlanthe is riding a massive wave of anti-Thabo Mbeki sentiment in the ANC.
5. The bald truth
The hairdressers at Esther’s Haircutting Studio in Tarzana, California, were locking their doors for the night last Friday when a cavalcade of cars drew up outside. Britney Spears jumped out of one of the vehicles and, accompanied by her bodyguards, marched into the salon.
6. Perlman: ‘Thanks for having me’
Broadcaster John Perlman finished his stint as SAfm current-affairs talk-show host on Friday after a run-in with his bosses over the blacklisting controversy last year.
7. Zimbabwe: An end to the stalemate?
President Robert Mugabe’s ruling party is splintering under the impact of Zimbabwe’s economic crisis and may seek to ease him out of office to stop a bloody political meltdown, an influential think tank said.
8. Up close with John Perlman
It is somehow difficult to understand how such an unassuming guy, in black jeans and T-shirt, could have caused such a fuss when he announced that he was quitting his job.
9. Mugabe denounces IMF
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe denounced the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday evening, calling dependence on the crisis lender and other donors tantamount to economic slavery, reducing African countries to beggars.
10. Brother and sister fight Germany’s incest laws
A German brother and sister are challenging the law against incest so that they can continue their relationship free from the threat of imprisonment.