Romania's consumer protection watchdog decided on Tuesday to withdraw around two tonnes of imported paprika from warehouses after detecting a toxic substance "slightly" above acceptable levels.
Most of the paprika, around 1.6 tonnes, was imported from Hungary and it had 20 percent more aflatoxin than the accepted level, the consumer protection authority said in a statement. It said another 500 kg came from Spain.
Scientists say aflatoxin could damage the human liver and immune system and may cause cancer.
Neighbouring Hungary last month ordered retailers to remove all products containing paprika, the fiery red spice that is an key ingredient in its national dish the goulash, after finding high levels of the toxin in paprika stored in public warehouses.
This was the first such action concerning paprika in Romania, where it is used as a spice in some dishes, especially in the Transylvania region near the Hungarian border.
"Following our action of taking samples from all paprika importers in Romania and analysing them ... we identified concentrations of aflatoxin slightly higher than the permitted limit in only four of the quantities," the consumer protection body said.
Source: Reuters
10.11.2004