Some supermarkets in Shenzhen removed Heinz brand pepper sauce products from their shelves after a cancer-causing medical dye, called Sudan I, was reportedly found in the sauce in Beijing on Friday.

But because Guangzhou-based Heinz Meiweiyuan Food's Shenzhen agency only started selling the Heinz product last July, its products sold in Shenzhen theoretically were not included in the spotted batch of products produced July 7, 2003, said a representative of the Shenzhen agency, who requested to remain anonymous.

"The first thing we did was contact all of our supermarket clients," said the representative. "We told them to remove an array of Heinz pepper sauce products from the shelves while we contacted the manufacturer for specifics about the recall."

Supermarkets didn't hesitate to take the initiative and ensure the safety of their customers.

"We have made complete inspections of our 11 stores in Shenzhen and found no Sudan I-related pepper sauce products," said Huang Suixiang, a regional manager for Park'n'Shop. "However, we still went ahead and withdrew all of the Heinz pepper sauce products from our shelves."

Some supermarkets, including Vanguard and Carrefour, reported no Heinz products were available for purchase except for a variety of Heinz products for babies.

Some 6,528 bottles of the contaminated pepper sauce produced by Heinz Meiweiyuan Food Co. Ltd. have reportedly entered the market, together with 6,288 bottles of the Heinz pepper oil, containing Sudan I.

The company held a press conference Sunday to recall its products containing Sudan I.

The recalled products include the Heinz Meiweiyuan pepper sauce products produced July 7, 2003, as well as pepper oil products produced in February 2005. Inquiries can be made by calling 020-8469-6176 extension 6006.

The production and sales of the tainted pepper sauce and pepper oil products had been halted while stock of the products was located and reclaimed, the company said.

The Sudan I would likely have come from the pepper extracts provided by a raw material supplier of the company and had not been used in other products, the company said, though it didn't give the supplier's name.

The company said it was still investigating the source of the Sudan I.

Editor: Catherine