BRUSSELS — British and Irish consumers may have to eat paler breakfast sausages and burgers after the European Union banned the use of a red food coloring, Red 2G, in the European Union due to concern it could cause cancer.
"This coloring is mainly used in sausages that are cooked for delicious English and Irish breakfasts," Michael Mann, a spokesman for the EU's executive Commission told a briefing on Friday.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) found in a review of all authorized food additives that Red 2G posed some health risks, the Commission said.
"EFSA stated that there was a strong possibility that Red 2G could provoke cancer, as it tends to break down into a carcinogenic substance called aniline," it said.
source: 23jul2007
BRUSSELS, Belgium - A red food coloring used in burgers and sausages will be banned across the 27-nation bloc due to health concerns, the European Union said Friday.
EU spokesman Michael Mann told reporters that scientific research conducted by EU experts found that the Red 2G dye "could provoke cancer" and its use would be suspended.
He said the European Food Safety Authority had evaluated the product "and has found it could pose health risks," Mann said, adding the dye was used mostly to color some breakfast sausages and hamburgers marketed and sold in Ireland and Britain.
"We are taking immediate measures to block the use of this additive, which is used in breakfast sausages and burgers, at rather low levels," he said.
The ban was to come into force within the next days.
EU food safety experts said the dye tends to breakdown in the body and into a carcinogenic substance called aniline.
Burgers and sausages containing the coloring and currently on food market shelves will be allowed to be sold to consumers but no new products containing the dye will be allowed after the ban comes into force, officials said.
source: 23jul2007
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