Bermuda?s supermarkets and food distributors have moved swiftly to remove any products from shelves which could potentially be contaminated by a carcinogenic dye.

The Royal Gazette reported yesterday that Britain?s Food Standard Agency issued a global alert late last week after Italian authorities uncovered the presence of the dye Sudan 1 in a long list of foodstuffs exported by UK food agents Premier Foods.

Sudan 1 is a product generally used for colouring oils, waxes, petrol and shoe polish which, if consumed, does contribute towards an increased risk of cancer ? although it must be ingested in large quantities in order to pose any significant danger to one?s health.

The dye was uncovered in a batch of Worcestershire sauce, which is also used to flavour literally hundreds of different food types including soups, sandwiches, sausages and pies.

Just under 360 potentially contaminated foods are listed on the BFSA?s website at www.food.gov.uk/sudanlist.

Wholesalers Butterfield and Vallis said yesterday only two of their products were potential risks and that virtually their entire stock had been taken out of circulation. ?Based on the sales records of these products for the past year, our staff has taken measures to remove these items from the grocers? shelves,? a Press statement read.

?These products have been brought back or are on the way back to our facilities. They will be destroyed, together with our own inventory, and therefore taken out of distribution.

?Members of the public who have these products in their homes should return them to their place of purchase for a refund.?

The products include 250 ml bottles of Coleman?s Seafood Sauce, batch number 20090906, best before date July 2005 ? October 2005 and Cross and Blackwell?s Worcestershire Sauce (all sizes), best before date 2008, 2009 and 2010. Anybody with any doubts regarding their products can call B&V at 236-6688, extension 355.

Meanwhile, Bermuda?s other major food wholesalers BNG and Viking Foods said they were not affected by the problem, while several supermarkets contacted yesterday all confirmed they were in the process of reviewing their inventories and taking the contaminated items off shelves.