KFC outlets in China have apologized to customers and stopped selling "New Orleans" flavor roast chicken wings and chicken burgers after finding a seasoning used in the products contains an industrial dye linked to cancer.

"We feel deeply sorry for this food safety accident and promise it will never happen again," Yum Brands Inc., parent company of KFC, said in a statement received Thursday.

Yum, based in Louisville, Kentucky, did not name the supplier of the contaminated seasoning, which it said contains Sudan I, a red dye used for coloring oils, waxes, petrol and shoe polish that has been linked to cancer.

Britain's Food Standards Agency raised an international food safety alert last month when it announced the dye had been used in hundreds of British foods and exported to several other countries.

Yum said the contaminated products and seasonings would be destroyed. A new supplier had been found and the affected products would be available again by next week, it said.

State media reports said local officials stepped up inspections after discovering Sudan I in some locally available pickles and in a pepper sauce, Meiweiyuan, produced by the Heinz-Meiweiyuan Food Co., Ltd., a joint venture by H.J. Heinz Co. in the southern city of Guangzhou.

The level of health risk from consuming Sudan I is unclear. Britain's Food Standards Agency said the dye could contribute to an increased risk of cancer, but it was not possible to identify a safe level or to quantify the risk.