The National Food Laboratory has developed a new test for the illegal Sudan dyes, designed to find them in food products like chilli powder.


“Working with our parent company, Food Products Association, we have been able to quickly develop a method to test for the presence of Sudan dyes in both the raw material and blended material products to assure them current inventories of product or product they are purchasing are free from these illegal colorants,” said Julie Hill, vice president, chemistry at the NFL. “Our current method can detect all 4 types of Sudan dyes at 0.01 ppm in a variety of sample matrices.”


 “A number of recalls of food products suspected of containing these illegal dyes are talking place across the globe,” she said. With today’s global sourcing of food ingredients, food companies are not taking any risks with their chili spice suppliers or products containing ingredients potentially contaminated with Sudan dyes,” says Kevin Buck, president of the NFL. “Our clients are looking for a reputable source to analyze their products and make sure there are no dye adulterants.”