THOUSANDS of school meals have had to be scrapped after they were found to contain a batch of cancer-causing dye Sudan 1.

Lancashire County Council confirmed it has had to redraw menus for the 500-plus schools, care homes and outdoor education centres after it learned contaminated batches of Worcester Sauce had been used by the authority.

It is now investigating how much of the sauce had been used for meals, and is making arrangements for 'safe' supplies to be delivered.

Two meals - Lasagne Verdi and Cheesey Pasta Bolognaise - use the sauce, and have now been scrapped from school menus for now.

Nationall, 429 products, ranging from the major supermarkets' own brand ready meals to catering supplies, have been recalled.

The contaminated red dye got into the food chain after being added to Crosse and Blackwell Worcester Sauce, made by Hertfordshire-based Premier Foods, which was then added as an ingredient to other products.

Premier said it had an assurance from its supplier that the dye did not contain Sudan 1. Since 2003, any dried or crushed chilli - which uses red dye - coming into Europe must be verified as Sudan 1 free.

A county councilspokesman said: "We took swift action and contacted our suppliers as soon as the Sudan 1 issue came to light.

"Two products, which may have been used in a small number of schools, were immediately recalled by our suppliers.

"We have been assured that levels of the dye in the products are extremely low and we are advised that at such levels, it presents no immediate risk to health.

"Lancashire County Commercial Services provides school lunches for 548 education establishments across Lancashire."

The spokesman added the same suppliers were used for other meal services, such as care homes.

A spokesman for Blackburn with Darwen Council, which provides meals at many schools in the borough, said the scare had not affected them, but added they were monitoring the foods being added to the recall list. They said they did not use contaminated Worcester Sauce. It is understood the two authorities also use different suppliers.

A spokesman for East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust confirmed it was also monitoring the list, but added that because their meals are prepared on site, they don't use pre-packaged dinners.

Yesterday, the Lancashire Evening Telegraph revealed how Baxenden-based Hollands Pies had recalled hot pot dinners because of the scare.

Environmental health officers are visiting shopkeepers across the county to help them identify which foods contain the dye and ensure shelves are cleared of foods containing Sudan 1.