Cancer dye supplier has been fined before

A company at the centre of the Sudan 1 food scare has previously had to pay compensation to manufacturers after supplying them with contaminated chilli.

A company at the centre of the Sudan 1 food scare has previously had to pay compensation to manufacturers after supplying them with contaminated chilli.

East Anglian Food Ingredients (EAFI) paid more than £300,000 to clients two years ago after inadvertently selling them chilli containing the cancer-causing Sudan 1 dye.

It was thought the affected batch had been destroyed but it appears it remained in circulation and was sold to other firms, sparking the most recent alert.

The news, which emerged yesterday, raised fresh concerns about whether there is sufficient regulation of food products in Britain.

Meanwhile, manufacturers said the recent alert could be their "Armageddon" and warned the safety concerns could cost the food industry up to £100m. More than 400 contaminated products have been removed from shop shelves.