HEALTH officials are warning of a possible cancer risk from eating south-east Asian prawns and shrimps.
Environmental health officers from Sunderland City Council have been visiting warehouses across the city to check for warm water prawns and shrimps imported from the area.
The move follows recent tests by the UK's Food Standards Agency, in which 16 out of 77 samples tested positive for illegal residues of nitrofuran drugs.
The drugs are no longer permitted in the European Union for use in food, because of concerns over a possible increased risk of cancer in humans through long-term consumption.
Brand names being targeted in the crackdown include Lyons, Red Ribbon and Ocean Pearl.
Supermarkets Sainsbury's, Iceland, Tesco and Makro have been approached to withdraw the brands.
For more details, log on to food.gov.uk or contact Sunderland council on 0191-553 1661.
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