A BANNED dye linked to cancer has been found in organic salmon sold at a leading supermarket chain.

A food safety alert has been issued to all European countries over organically farmed salmon that contained malachite green. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) said last week the presence of the banned chemical at any levels in fresh fish was “unacceptable”.

The alert over the contaminated salmon at Morrisons supermarket comes after the FSA earlier this year issued a warning over Sudan 1, a banned red dye discovered in many foods including sausages, cottage pie and pasta bakes.

Malachite green, which acts as a fungicide as well as a dye, was banned from use in British fish farms two years ago because it was suspected of causing cancer.

Morrisons said it did not believe banned substances were used in its organically farmed fish and the salmon may have been accidentally contaminated from dyed paper towels containing the toxic chemical.

A sample of organic fish was tested last November by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate, which checks the safety of the food supply chain.

It found a level of 2.5 microgrammes per kilogramme, the first time malachite green has been found in organic salmon since 2000.

The FSA was informed but said any affected products would have been eaten by the time it was aware of the problem. A spokesman said that although the likelihood of any risk to human health was low, the chemical should not be found in any foods.

“We received the full supply chain details from the supplier of the affected salmon on April 27,” he said, “and after investigations into the precise method of sampling the [alert notification] was issued by the European commission on May 24.”

The Irish authorities were told last week that the supplier of the salmon was Clare Island Sea Farm, operated by Marine Harvest, one of the world’s leading fish farming companies. The ban on malachite green also applies to Ireland, where a government spokesman said an investigation had been launched. The company denies any wrongdoing.

Salmon farming has had a troubled recent history. A study published last year said chemical contaminants in farmed salmon were at unacceptably high levels and might increase the risk of cancer.

The study was criticised by supporters of the salmon farming industry as “utterly reprehensible and flawed”.

Malachite green was previously used as a fish fungicide and was declared illegal in fish production in Britain in 2002.

Morrisons said it was satisfied that the supplier was not to blame for the “minute” amounts of contamination. It said paper towels thought to be responsible have been withdrawn from use.

Pat Connor, a processing manager for Clare Island Sea Farm, said he was “100% confident” its salmon was clear of malachite green. He said tests were conducted on the fish prior to leaving the farm to verify no chemicals had been used in their production.

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