Brussels, July 24 (DPA) The European Union (EU) is to step up border checks on imports such as chilli peppers, basmati rice from India and Pakistan and tomatoes from Turkey in a bid to keep EU consumers from food poisoning and cancer, the bloc's executive said Friday.

The European Commission has approved new rules obliging member states to limit the ways in which shipments of suspect foods enter Europe, and to carry out regular chemical analyses of the shipments, commission officials said.

The EU's list of suspect products includes basmati rice from India and Pakistan, which will be tested for carcinogenic aflatoxins. Half of all Pakistani basmati shipments and one in 10 of Indian ones will have to undergo chemical tests.

Peanuts from Argentina, Brazil, Ghana and India will also be tested for aflatoxins, while chilli peppers and powder from around the world will be tested for Sudan dyes, which have been linked to cancer.