Not so sweet: the shady world of illegal colours Unique sampling work being conducted by West Yorkshire Trading Standards has resulted in a successful prosecution and a slot on the BBC’s Fake Britain. It all began in August 2013, when officers from West Yorkshire Trading Standards obtained a number of samples of brightly coloured Asian-style sweets during an inspection of a retail catering premises. Subsequent testing by the public analyst showed that the sweets contained Rhodamine B, a non-approved food additive. Rhodamine B is not permitted for food use within the EU. It is an industrial chemical often used in the sewerage industry and is considered to be carcinogenic and genotoxic. In its inert state, it is an iridescent green, very fine powder with a gold sheen, which upon contact with water becomes a vivid fluorescent pink. After the discovery of Rhodamine B in these sweets, trading standards officers (TSOs) undertook targeted inspections and sampling. Importers, manufacturers, distributors, retailers and catering establishments were visited across West Yorkshire to survey the market, procure samples and raise businesses awareness of the problem. During the past two years, a range of products have been found to contain Rhodamine B. These have included pre-packed products sold at retail – sugar-coated fennel seeds, kish mish and patasa – and non pre-packed, Asian-style sweets manufactured and sold in West Yorkshire, such as barfi, rasgullay, patisa, rasgulla and katales. Investigations identified that pre-packed products have been imported into Europe without any evidence of further testing to ensure they are safe to consume, or that they satisfy EU food standards requirements. Evidence indicates that some of the products have been supplied throughout the UK. In the case of the products manufactured in West Yorkshire, the owners of the food businesses have been unable or unwilling to provide traceability for the colouring used. They informed officers that either the colouring had been brought back from India or Pakistan – where it is used widely in sweets – or someone of unknown identity had given it to the business to trial in the sweets. A number of investigations and interventions have been undertaken, including formal warnings, cautions and prosecutions. Most recently, Hafiz Munir Ahmed and Mansurul Aziz, the directors of Fine Bakers and Sweet Centre in Bradford, pleaded guilty to placing food containing Rhodamine B – in this case two barfi products – on the market. They also pleaded guilty to failing to provide traceability information, to identify from where the additive had been supplied. The company was ordered to pay £2,200 prosecution costs with a £120 victim surcharge. The directors were each fined £500 and both were ordered to pay £550 prosecution costs and £50 victim surcharges. In addition to this, Ahmed was disqualified from being a director for two years. Jo Hamer, team leader of the market surveillance team, said: ‘Every business known to trading standards that manufactures this type of product has been visited, samples have been taken and the business investigated if Rhodamine B has been found to be present. ‘Rhodamine B has been found to have been widely used throughout West Yorkshire to colour these sweets. I am not aware of any similar sampling regime being carried out by other trading standards departments throughout the country, but I would be very surprised if this activity is limited to West Yorkshire. Due to the potential health implications of consumption of food containing this product, it is important that businesses have an awareness of this potential safety risk.’ This issue, along with other food-contamination issues, is expected to be featured in an upcoming edition of the BBC’s Fake Britain.