Authorities in the capital of the southern province of Guangdong said on August 27 they will begin checking roasted meat products for a leather dye using a new test devised by them after it was found in food sold in markets there.

"It is the first testing system for Red II in China," said Zuo Yihong, a Guangzhou Administration of Quality and Technology Supervision official.

Red II, with the chemical name sodium alizarinsulfonate and also known as alizarin red, is an industrial agent normally used to color leather.

It was not reported exactly when or where it was discovered in meat, or how many products might have been affected. No dates were given for when the testing would begin.

Zuo said some roasted meat suppliers used it to make their products look more appetizing, but that "it can cause cancer if people often eat meat containing the material.”

One local seller of roasted meat, Xiao Yue, was reported in China Daily today as saying his meat did not contain Red II and that he was "looking forward to the testing system."

In March, Sudan I, which has been found to cause cancer, created alarm across the country upon disclosure that it had been used in hundreds of food items, and there are current concerns about the use of another carcinogen, malachite green, in freshwater products.

(China Daily August 30, 2005)