The Myanmar Health Ministry has banned some brands of dyed chili powder on sale in markets in the second largest city of Mandalay for finding chemical dye Rhodamine B of red color, the local weekly Myanmar Times reported Monday.

Four brands of ready-made chili powder, including Shwe Ngayouk Myaing, Yatharmon and Ma Myo as well as another four more brands of ready-made fish paste were tested for containing the chemical dye used or coloring silk, cotton, paper and leather, and for screening diseases in laboratory, the report said.

The ministry had banned 101 kinds of fish paste and 100 brands of pickled tea leaves earlier on sale in the market for also finding chemical dye, Auramine O.

Myanmar destroyed a total of 15,000 viss (about 24,750 kilograms) of chemical-dyed fish paste in Yangon in May and 145 viss (about 240 kilograms) of chemical-dyed pickled tea leaves in Mandalay in April.

Fish paste, which is called Ngapi in Myanmar language and represents one of the most favorite traditional food in the country, is consumed with boiled or raw or pickled vegetables as curry food and Myanmar living abroad mostly order this kind of food occasionally for its flavor.

Pickled tea leaves, mixed with edible oil, groundnut and sesame when consuming generally, is one of Myanmar's most favorite traditional food.