Guangzhou Secondary People's Court held a hearing yesterday on the Sudan I case that has caused nationwide attention.
Last April, China's State Administration for Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine announced that it had discovered the cancer-causing Sudan I in 88 kinds of food.
The main manufacturer of Sudan I was found to be Guangzhou Tianyang Food Company. Tianyang is a food additive maker that mainly produces pepper oil and pepper powder.
Tianyang's chief Tan Weitang and assistant to the general manager Feng Yonghua were brought to trial for manufacturing and selling the products.
Tan Weitang is accused of authorizing his company to produce a food additive named Capsicum Red I, a pigment from Sudan I, without any security tests. Capsicum Red I has been shown to be harmful when ingested.
Starting in March 2002 and ending in the middle of 2005, Tianyang produced 24,270,000 kilograms of Capsicum Red I and sold 23,890,000 kilograms, earned more than RMB4 million.
As this is a preliminary hearing, a verdict in the case will not be announced for a few months.
