UK retailers are confident they have cleared their shelves of products contaminated with a potential cancer causing dye.

However, consumers are still being urged to check their homes for up to 350 products in which the banned dye, Sudan 1, is thought to have been used.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) said retailers have acted swiftly to remove products containing Sudan 1.

The illegal food dye - which has been linked to an increased risk of cancer - was found in chilli powder used by Premier Foods to make a Worcester sauce which was then used in further products, such as ready meals.

The FSA's Justin Everard said the agency had worked with the major retailers in the week leading up to the public announcement, to organise the best possible means of removing the products from shelves.

"The contaminated products have been taken off shelves and replaced with others which have been made using another formula which is tested and cleared," he said.

He added that he hoped smaller shops and convenience stores had been given advice from their own trade associations or had picked up on the massive news coverage in the last 24 hours.

Kate Ison of the British Retail Consortium said: "I should not think there are any gaps among retailers. We would regard this as a successful and tight operation.

"As soon as we heard of the contamination we contacted our members and the instruction was to remove the products."

According to the FSA, the illegal dye was first discovered in a consignment of Worcester sauce exported to Italy.

It is contained in chilli powder used by Premier Foods to make Worcester sauce and has been used in up to 359 other products, including soups, sauces and ready meals.

Premier Foods said it had been assured the powder did not contain Sudan 1.

It said it was withdrawing the products as a “precautionary measure” and said the levels of Sudan 1 in the food presented no immediate risk to health.

Sudan I is a red dye used for colouring solvents, oils and waxes, and is banned for use in food stuffs in the UK and across the EU.

Since July 2003, all chilli powder imported into the UK has to be certified free of Sudan I.

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