Shops clear of killer dye

They say they have visited shops across the town and did not find any of the hundreds of foods that have been banned.

The checks followed the biggest ever food recall after the cancer causing dye found its way into the nation's food.

The Adver carried out its own undercover checks on corner shops last week and found that many were still stocking banned food in particular beef and tomato Pot Noodles.

At this point the shopkeepers hadn't yet received the 1,300 letters that have been sent to shops, restaurants and suppliers by Swindon council.

Rob Taylour, public protection group leader at Swindon council, said: "Since we sent out our letters to retailers last week we have been visiting them to give them a gentle reminder.

"We have not found any of the banned foods on the shelves in any of the shops.

"The majority of retailers are taking it very seriously.

"There is always the chance there might be the odd packet of noodles hanging around.

"Although it's the biggest food withdrawal that has ever been undertaken in Britain the risk of the potential effects of cancer are very small."

He added that there had been a few calls from shopkeepers who were concerned but that the council had advised them.

Rose Bhimji, who owns RSN stores in Kent Road, said that protecting her customers was her biggest concern.

"We have removed all the banned food, including the Pot Noodles and Weight Watchers Shepherd's Pie, from our shelves," she said.

"We did this even before the council had sent out the letter.

"The food that was found in the freezer and mentioned in the article had been put in a bag and was supposed to go back to the cash and carry.

"The council sent me a full list of about ten pages with every banned item and we have carefully gone through the whole list and removed every one from our shelves. Our primary concern is the safety of our customers and we would like to reassure them that we will do all we can to ensure this."

Diana Milne