High levels of erucic acid in foods preserved in oil (Update 1)

Thursday 23 December 2004

Food Alert: for Information

Ref: 41/2004 (Update 1) (England): 42/2004 (Update 1) (Scotland)

Local authorities were advised in FHW 41/2004 of a survey conducted by the Food Standards Agency of erucic acid in certain foods preserved in oil.

Heads of Environmental Health Services and Directors of Trading Standards will wish to be aware that, since that time, we have been notified of further products in which erucic acid has been found to exceed the statutory limit, as prescribed by the Erucic Acid in Food Regulations 1977, i.e.

(a) erucic acid is more than 5% of the fatty acid content of any oil or fat or mixture of the two, or

(b) for foods with more than 5% total fat content, the erucic acid comprises more than 5% of the fatty acid content of all the oil or fat in the case of a food to which oil and/or fat has been added.

(c) where a product to which oil and/or fat have been added is aimed explicitly or implicitly at young children and infants, the same conditions in (b) apply except there is no minimum fat level, all such foods must comply irrespective of total fat content.

All the products listed in the attached annex are subject to a trade withdrawal.

Product name	Brand	Size	BB Date	Country of Origin
Hot Pepper Sauce	Laoganma	200g glass jar	2004.12.14 ZQ	China
		210g glass jar	2004.12.14.ZQ
		210g glass jar	14/04/2005
		300g glass jar	22/08/2005
		300g glass jar	28/02/2005
		215g glass jar		People's Republic of China
		294g glass jar
Oriental Black Bean Sauce	Laoganma	300g glass jar	20/09/2005	China
Chilli Black Bean Sauce	Laoganma	Glass jar	29/11/2005	China
Chilli Oil		210g glass jar	09/11/2005	China
Salted Black Bean Sauce		300g glass jar	27/11/2005	China
Satkora Pickle	Pran	300g glass jar	End Apr 2006	Bangladesh
		300g glass jar	27 Jun 2005	Bangladesh
Punjabi Pachranga Achar	Ashoka	500g glass jar	August 2005	India