Our sauce is safe

The city firm said its Worcestershire Sauce has in no way been contaminated by a potentially cancer-causing dye found in more than 350 other products.

Hundreds of worried shoppers contacted the company over the weekend to find out if the world-famous condiment was tainted, following the admission that a Worcester sauce made by Crosse & Blackwell was contaminated.

But Lea & Perrins, based in Worcester since 1837, said it was only linked by name and its product was compeltely safe.

"It's a small market and, by association, we've been sucked in," said a spokesman.

He added it was too early to judge if sales had been hit, but feared customers might think twice about their purchase.

"We're looking at it very carefully to ensure Lea & Perrins comes out of it with a good bill of health," he said.

"We have extremely rigorous quality controls in place at all stages of the process.

"We use only the highest quality ingredients, and buys only from suppliers who can certify their ingredients to be safe."

The duty manager at Sainsbury's in Warndon, Worcester, Mike Spencer, said customers had asked whether the world famous county brand might be dangerous to eat.

"The big thing was they thought Lea & Perrins sauce was affected. Crosse & Blackwell Worcester sauces are and there was confusion there," he said, adding all contaminated stock had been removed.

The Sudan 1 dye has been found in a range of products including ready meals like shepherd's pie, cottage pies and casseroles plus dressings such as seafood sauces.

Affected brands include WeightWatchers, McDonald's low-fat caesar salad and Pot Noodle.

The FSA urged anyone who has brought the foods to throw them away or accept a refund. An agency spokeswoman said today that more foods were likely to be withdrawn. "We will notify the public as soon as we get them," she added.

A full list of the products is on the FSA website at www.food.gov.uk/sudanlist.