Smarties make U.S. see red

Press, 2 February 1982, Page 6

Smarties make U.S. see red

Parents have been reassured that red Smarties—banned in the United States—are no danger to children. A spokesman for Rowntree Mackintosh said in London: “The red Smartie is perfectly safe and is in line with Common Market regulations,” NZPA reports. The little chocolate sweet was barred in the U.S. after a consignment arrived at New York’s Kennedy Airport. | Food and Drug Administration officials said the red colouring, carmoisine, had not been tested in the United States and therefore they could not allow it into the country. The officials were taken aback when a consignment of 200 boxes arrived from Stirlings, a Glasgow department store. They made the

receiving agent sort through all 7200 Smarties to take out the red ones, which were later flushed down a drain. The Rowntree Mackintosh spokesman said there were no plans to export the sweets to the United States although they were exported to 80 other countries. “This edible food dye is approved for use in a number of foodstuffs in a wide range of countries. It is perfectly safe,” he said. “We do not export directly to America because of trade mark difficulties. Apparently there is already a sweet with the same name over there. “We have been manufacturing Smarties in Great Britain since the 19305. We sell millions of packets each year and it is the most popular children’s sweet in Britain.”