TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Restaurant chain Bafang Dumpling said Tuesday (March 5) it had stopped using all ingredients from a supplier of tainted chili powder.
The company first denied it had purchased the products, but backtracked after food inspectors in Kaohsiung City found its name on a list of buyers, per CNA. Chili powder from China tainted with the carcinogenic industrial dye Sudan III has found its way into food products, from shrimp chips to curry powder.
Bafang Dumpling said it had used the chili powder in its Korean dumpling products. The inspectors in Kaohsiung said that two importers had sold 34,000 kilograms of the tainted powder to restaurants and food processors in seven cities and counties.
Bafang Dumpling said it had only used ingredients after having them tested for Sudan dyes, pesticides, and heavy metals by Swiss testing and certification group SGS. The company added that the chili powders it used belonged to a different batch from the one where inspectors had found Sudan III.