STROUD District Council has swung into action following shock revelations that certain foods sold in supermarkets have been contaminated with a potentially life-threatening dye.

The council's food safety team has been working with Gloucestershire Trading Standards officers and the Food Standards Agency to ensure that any products inadvertently contaminated with the illegal dye Sudan 1 are removed from sale.

The dye, which is used for colouring solvents, oils, waxes, petrol, and shoe and floor polishes, and can cause cancer.

However, Sudan 1 was found in a batch of chilli powder used by Premier Foods to manufacture a Worcester sauce, which was then used as an ingredient in a wide range of products.

WeightWatchers shepherd's pies, Beef and Tomato Pot Noodles as well as McDonalds barbecue sauce are just a few products affected.

At least 350 food products are currently known to be affected.

Martin Whiteside, the Green Party's Parliamentary candidate for Stroud, said the issue was another problem of the globalised food system.

He said: "Few people who eat processed food will have avoided this cancer-causing red dye Sudan 1. Our supermarkets increasingly rely on only a few suppliers to provide their ingredients for their processed meals. This means big problems when safety breaks down and is no doubt why most processed meals taste the same.

"The supermarkets have known about this problem since 2003 when products with Sudan 1 were recalled. The Food Standards Agency has also issued alerts since then, yet none of the supermarket systems picked up on this latest incident."

More than 400 food products have been recalled from shops in recent days in what is the biggest food recall in British history at an estimated cost of £100 million.

Nobody from Somerfield and Kwiksave in Dursley or the Co-op, in Cam was available for comment yesterday as the Gazette went to press.

A list of products known to be affected can be viewed on the FSA's web site -www.food.gov.uk/sudanlist

Any householders or food business proprietors that do not have access to the internet can contact Stroud District Council's Food Safety team on 01453 754478 for advice and a copy of an up-to-date list.