The Hindu : International : Indian 'connection' in food contamination scare

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Feb 25, 2005

International

International

Indian 'connection' in food contamination scare

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON, FEB. 24 . A British Indian businessman is reportedly being investigated in connection with what has been billed as Britain's biggest food scare leading supermarkets across the country to recall hundreds of food products containing contaminated chilli powder suspected to cause cancer.

Ashok Joshi of Leicester-based EW Spices has refused to comment on claims that his firm supplied five tonnes of chilli powder to a company in Essex, the East Anglia Food Ingredients (EAFI), which in turn sold it to others ending up being used in a range of food products including pickles, chips, soups, sauces and ready-to-eat meals.

The alleged role of EW Spices in the long chain of supplies of chilli mix, contaminated with the banned dye `Sudan 1,' surfaced after EAFI claimed that it had bought a five-tonne consignment from it in 2002. Mr. Joshi said he had been advised by his lawyers not to comment.

The names of two Mumbai-based companies, Gautam Export Corporation and Volga, have also been mentioned in connection with the scandal that has shaken Britain's food industry with questions being asked about quality control.

Stocks recalled

Already nearly 400 food products, estimated to be worth £100 million have been recalled by some of the country's leading supermarkets such as Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury, Asda and Waitrose. The Food Standards Agency has ordered food companies and shops to identify all contaminated products in their stock or face prosecution.

Meanwhile, Jagdish Advani of Gautam Export Corporation has confirmed to a British newspaper that his company sold "one or two tonnes of chillies" to EW Spices but said: "I do not know where they sent it to."

"And I would point out that I did not export five tonnes of product so I do not know who added the other spices in the batch to East Anglian Foods,'' he told The Guardian.

Volga has also denied any role in supplying allegedly contaminated spice saying it was being "accused of a crime we never committed."

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