Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
CHAPTER
4
DELIBERATE CHEMICAL CONTAMINATION AND
PROCESSING CONTAMINATION
STEPHEN LOCK
4.1
INTRODUCTION
Over the last few years, there have been a number of scares due to food contamination.
This contamination can be divided into two types: that of malicious or deliberate
chemical contamination to gain a
t and, alternatively, the inadvertent
contamination of food during processing and packaging. In each case, the contami-
nation has generally been a result of small organic chemicals.
In recent years, there have been two major cases of malicious contamination that
have made the news headlines. One of the earliest cases of this type of contamination
involved the use of Sudan dyes to enhance the visual characteristics of chili spice in
order to achieve a premium market price. In 2003, the Food Standard Agency (FSA)
in the UK con
financial bene
rmed that Sudan dyes had been found in a number of relishes,
chutneys, and seasonings containing chili powder [1] and this continued to be a food
safety concern [2]. The Sudan dyes, which are normally used in shoe polish and
waxes, are known carcinogens and are therefore banned from food in the UK and EU
states. The contamination was traced to a sample of chili powder that had been
imported into Europe from India and used in the processing of various products. The
dyes were used to enhance the color of the spice and therefore increase the revenue for
the product by arti
cially changing its appearance. Following a surveillance exercise
by the FSA, food contamination was discovered causing large food withdraws [3] and
costing the UK food manufacturing industry millions of pounds sterling (GBP). As a
result, the Indian authorities (Spices Board) [4] cancelled the licenses of the
ve
Indian exporters involved, and ordered the mandatory preship inspection of all future
chili consignments leaving the country.
In the instance of the Sudan dye contamination in Europe, the health of consumers
was put at risk but there were no adverse effects reported and no fatalities resulted.
Sadly, in the case of melamine contamination of food in 2007, this was not the case.
Melamine is not a naturally occurring chemical but is a substance used in a variety of
industries, including the production of resins and foams, cleaning products, fertilizers,
and pesticides. Melamine contains a high level of nitrogen and is used to arti
cially
