Malaysian food... If you find in your supermarket, please avoid it!

Banned 50 years ago, Rhodamine B still used in foodstuff

PENANG: Food operators are still using a cancer-causing dye in the preparation of belacan (shrimp paste) and several popular Chinese buns and kuih, according to the Consumers Association of Penang (CAP).

The dye was banned more than 50 years ago but food operators are still using it due to lax enforcement, said its president S. M. Mohd Idris.

He said a recent test by CAP found that samples of the food items contained Rhodamine B – a pink-coloured dye banned under the Food Regulation 1985 and Food and Drug Ordinance of 1952.

Mohamed Idris said CAP first detected the presence of Rhodamine B in belacan in 1973. Since then, random tests on several other items were conducted between 1983 and this year.

“On each occasion, we will notify the Health Ministry of our findings and request that they conduct an investigation,” he said at a press conference here on Tuesday.

Idris said the ministry’s failure to enforce the law could jeopardise the public’s health.

“We discovered traces of the dye in five samples of belacan bought from a famous wet market in Kuala Lumpur and in eight samples of Mi Ku, Siew Ku and Huat Kuih bought from several wet markets in Penang,” he said, adding that the tests were conducted in the last two months.

“The dye is commonly used in the textile and plastic industries to give containers and cloth a bright pinkish hue. It is also used to dye feather dusters,” he said.

“Almost all Malaysians are at risk because belacan is widely consumed. Producers of the dye are very clever. The dye is packed into small consumer-friendly bottles and is readily available at sundry shops everywhere.

“The Health Ministry should stop the sale of dye in small quantities because it is not meant for consumers,” he added.

If any colouring agent must be used, Idris said natural dyes, like beetroot extract, should be the option.

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