Banned under European Union rules last year, the harmful Sudan dye, also known as 'scarlet red', has since been found in a range of chilli powders and curry powders, as well as more than 200 food products ranging from pesto sauce to chicken tikka masala.
"Found in BFW palm oil the affected product is believed to be manufactured in Ghana. The Agency has no details of the UK importer or distribution outlets," said the Food Standards Agency (FSA) of the latest recall.
What started as a trickle in July last year - when the European Commission alerted Member States that products contaminated with Sudan I from India had been found in France - is rapidly turning into a river of food product recalls as the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) continues to unearth more potentially contaminated batches.
The Commission alert, implemented in the UK by the Food (Hot Chilli and Hot Chilli Products) (Emergency Control) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2004 (Statutory Instrument 2004 No. 142), is due for review in January 2005.
"We have undergone a constant process since July last year - tracing products throughout the chain and building up a picture of where contaminated products could have ended up," a spokesman for the UK's FSA recently told FoodNavigator.com.
Believed to cause cancer if consumed in large enough quantities, Sudan I - IV is a forbidden colour under the Colours in Food Regulations 1995. In January this year a European Commission clampdown extended the rules on the illegal red chemical dyes to include curry powder.
Both large and small companies have been implicated in the sudan recall, although the cost to the industry is difficult to estimate, "It must have been huge," said Chris Smart at the UK's Reading Scientific Services Limited (RSSL) that has developed a method for detecting the four types of sudan red dyes.
He points out that the biggest surprise about the number of companies having to recall products is "is that routine testing should be able to pick up the problem in ingredient supplies before the products are even made."
"Sudan red has arguably been the single biggest crisis that the food industry has faced during this year. It is definitely one of those occasions where a little bit of routine testing could have saved an awful lot of money and embarrassment for a great many food producers,"he added.
According to the Indian Spice board, an estimated 500,000 tonnes of spices and herbs valued at €1.2 billion are traded each year around the globe - of which 46 per cent is supplied by India. The board, which regulates all exports, says it has the Sudan situation under control and four companies whose products fell foul of the testing procedures for the potential carcinogen have had their licences revoked.