The owner and an assistant manager of a food dye company went on trial yesterday in Guangzhou for allegedly producing and selling Sudan I, a carcinogenic dye used mainly in shoe polish and other kinds of wax products.

Tan Weitang, owner of the Guangzhou Tianyang Food Co. Ltd., and Feng Yonghua, the assistant manager, were charged with production and sale of contaminated food.

Tan allegedly instructed Feng in March 2002 to use industrial chemicals as raw materials for food dyes, so that the dyes would look more appealing. Without testing the safety of the ingredients or asking for approval from food safety authorities, Feng allegedly used the industrial chemicals in the company¡¯s food dye products.

The Sudan I dye is 98 percent carcinogenic, the New Express paper said yesterday.

The Tianyang company produced 242,700 kilograms of Sudan I and sold 238,900 kilograms of the product for more than 4 million yuan (US$490,000) between March 2002 and March 2005, the Guangzhou Intermediate People¡¯s Court heard yesterday. The company also allegedly sold 162,000 yuan worth of other food dyes containing harmful chemicals.

Media reports about the Sudan I dye caused panic among the public last year, as it is used as an additive not only in tomato paste and ketchup, but also in chili sauce, pepper oil and pickles that are prepared with traditional methods. Fast food outlets, including some KFC branches, have used the dye-tainted products.

Editor: Yan