City of York Council's food and safety unit is reminding traders and residents about the dangers of an imported chilli powder

The national Food Standards Agency issued a warning to anyone who has Rajah brand seasoning mixes and Shaw's (Huddersfield) Ltd products, which may contain the potentially harmful product Sudan I. However, indications show that the affected product is still available.

Officers from the council's food and safety unit are advising retailers who think they may have the contaminated product in stock to contact them immediately.

Sudan I is not a permitted colour under the Colours in Food regulations 1995 and is a potentially cancer causing chemical, considered to be a genotoxic carcinogen. Its presence at any level is not permitted in food stuffs for any purposes.

Six Rajah brand products have been identified as containing Sudan I. The company have undertaken a full trade withdrawal of the products with 'best before end' dates up until 18 July, 2005 from all their customers. HP Foods Limited have set up a helpline to address customer enquiries. Shaw's (Huddersfield) Ltd have also undertaken a trade withdrawal of both the retail size of fourteen of their products with any 'best before end' date up to 1 February, 2006 and of the 'Food Service' (catering) size with any 'best before end' date before July 2004. A contact number for customer enquiries has also been set up to take calls from concerned customers.

Richard Withers, principal trading standards officer, City of York Council, said: "We're advising all residents to throw the affected brands away if they find them in their cupboards, and shops should not be selling them. Although people should be cautious there is no immediate threat of illness and those most at risk would be people eating contaminated products regularly over a long period of time."

Further information and examples of the labelling can be found on the Food Standards Agency Website www.food.gov.uk

The Rajah Consumer Services team can be contacted on 0800 0721122 The Shaws (Huddersfield) Ltd contact number for customer enquiries is 01484 439999. The affected Shaw's (Huddersfield) Ltd products are: Red Pepper & Aubergine Relish 280g Hot Mango Chutney 300g Flaming Hot Chutney 300g Spicy Apricot Chutney 300g Mild Chilli Relish 300g Tomato Relish 300g Onion Chutney 300g Curried Fruit Chutney 300g Barbecue Relish 300g Tomato Relish 2.4Kg Mild Chilli Relish 2.4Kg Chilli Relish 2.4Kg Red Hot Chilli Sauce 2.3Kg The Rajah products that are affected are: Rajah Tandoori Masala Rajah Natural Tandori Masala Rajah jerk seasoning Rajah Chilli & Lemon seasoning Rajah Oriental Noodle seasoning Rajah Chicken seasoning These products are retailed in 100g and 400g packets (Larger sizes 1Kg and 8 Kg are also sold through wholesalers)