INDEPENDENT businesses in Basingstoke have criticised a Government watchdog after being left to their own devices to deal with the country's biggest health scare this year.

Owners of a number of small shops and convenience stores in the borough have said that the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has not made them aware of which products have been affected since the scare started.

At the end of last week it was revealed that scores of products on shop shelves could contain an illegal food dye called Sudan 1 - commonly found in shoe polishes - which got into a batch of chilli powder.

They say they were only made aware which products had been affected after picking up on the massive media coverage.

Nevertheless, they insist they have dealt with the situation effectively and are confident they have cleared their shelves of any affected goods.

Amarjit Singh Bhuller, of Bhuller Stores, South Ham, Basingstoke, said he had received no feedback from the FSA and had to resort to press reports for information.

He said his St Peter's Road shop has cleared all the products and he used newspapers and the internet to find out the relevant information.

"The agency has been slow to respond to smaller businesses, in my opinion," he said.

"They should have sent a circular round to all the shops but we haven't received anything and neither have any of my colleagues. I had to read about it in the papers instead.

"We had a lady from a manufacturing company check all the Pot Noodles. She removed the beef and tomato flavours as a precautionary measure, so we are confident we have dealt with this effectively.

"But it would have been nice to have had some support from the FSA."

Nick Amin, owner of Eastrop Store on Eastrop Way, said he found the whole situation very worrying.

"I am surprised that the FSA and our suppliers haven't published a list of affected products and sent it to us. It's quite worrying," he said.

"My sister has connections with Londis and it was very quick off the mark, so I was able to get some really good information from her."

The town's major supermarkets have also responded quickly to the scandal, insisting food safety is a top priority. Sainsbury's, Tesco, Morrisons and ASDA have all had products in its ranges affected, as has Marks & Spencer.

Managers at the town stores have removed hundreds of products, including soups, sauces, crisps and ready meals, and have a range of information and advice available to customers on request.

The recall was sparked when a consignment of Worcester Sauce by Premier Foods was found to have been made with chilli powder containing Sudan 1.

The dye has been shown to cause cancer in laboratory animals, but the risk to consumers is extremely small.

It is the biggest recall of products in British history and is estimated to be costing £100million.

A spokeswoman for the FSA said the agency wasn't ignoring small businesses and insisted help was at hand.

"It is the legal responsibility of the people who supply these shops to tell them about any contaminated products," she said.

"The environmental health departments of local authorities are working with us to go in and help corner shops get stuff off their shelves."

Nigel Snape, a trading standards officer with Hampshire County Council, said: "We have been liaising with the environmental departments of our borough councils to identify any affected goods."

Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council environmental health workers will be carrying out spot checks on stores in the area to make sure all products have been removed.

All shop owners had until last night to remove contaminated items before they would be fined.

For further information and advice, and a full list of all 428 recalled products, visit www.food.gov.uk