Cancer chemical found in Pringles

Grilled barbecue-flavoured Pringles were being removed from stores last night after a report from the mainland that a cancer-causing chemical had been found in the snacks.

Some mainland media quoted an announcement from the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine saying potassium bromate was found in a sample from a batch of the Pringles.

The check by the inspection and quarantine authority in Zhuhai was made when the crisps were imported on July 10.

Reports also said the chemical had been found in two batches of original and seaweed flavours from Japanese snack manufacturer Bourbon when imported on July 27.

Potassium bromate is a flour improver used to strengthen dough and make it rise. It is an oxidising agent which under the right conditions disappears during baking. But if too much is used or the product is not cooked for long enough or at a high enough temperature, a residual and harmful amount is left.

It has been banned in several countries as a carcinogen and can also damage the central nervous system, blood and kidneys.

Wellcome said it was removing the Pringles and Bourbon snacks.

A ParknShop spokeswoman said they did not sell either product but would be watchful and follow advice from the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department.

A mainland report said a local spokeswoman from Procter & Gamble, which makes Pringles, said the batch made in the US, where the chemical is allowed as an additive. Most were made in mainland factories and followed mainland rules.

Procter & Gamble in Hong Kong said it had no plans to recall the products. The company said the snacks had not been imported by Procter & Gamble. Officially imported products did not contain the chemical, it said. There is a hotline - 2583 3583 - for consumers.

A spokeswoman from the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department said it was looking into the case.

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