No official reports of salmonella after hummus recall despite people being ‘violently ill’

The number of contaminated hummus products sold to customers in the South Island is now more than double that originally thought, but there remain no official reports of customers being ill.

Foodstuffs issued a recall notice after items contaminated with salmonella were sold in Canterbury on Saturday after accidentally being sent to stores.

The company’s South Island Distribution Centre in Christchurch received a delivery from a supplier on Friday of recalled hummus products, some of which were sent on to stores in error.

Foodstuffs initially confirmed it had sold 17 recalled products to 14 customers.

READ MORE:
* Supermarkets sold hummus products after recall; two customers uncontactable
* Sick for days: Consumers report food poisoning after eating hummus
* Hummus recall widens to include My Food Bag products

But after checking sales data from the weekend on Monday, it revealed 39 stubs of the recalled product were sold in error to customers.

Of those 34, Foodstuffs has made contact with 25, a spokesperson said.

“There are currently nine customers who we know purchased the recalled products that we have been unable to reach.”

Those nine customers bought:

Lisa’s Hummus Beetroot & Roast Cashew at New World Durham Street in Christchurch; Lisa’s Original Hummus with Garlic & Lemon at New World Hokitika; Lisa’s Hummus Smokey and Lisa’s Hummus Smokey Garlic & Tahini at New World Kaikōura; Lisa’s 2 In 1 Hummus Dill Pickle & Sweet and Smokey BBQ and Lisa’s Original Hummus With Garlic & Lemon at the Four Square in Darfield; Greater Hummus Roasted Garlic at the Four Square in Port Chalmers; and Greater Hummus Roasted Garlic at Raeward Fresh in Richmond – all on Saturday.

A customer also bought Lisa’s Hummus Chargrilled Capsicum at the Four Square in Mapua on Sunday.

“A full investigation as to why the recalled product was delivered to Foodstuffs South Island and dispatched to the stores is already under way,” the spokesperson said.

Customers are advised not to consume items and to return them to stores for a full refund.

Have you been affected? Contact brianna.mcilraith@stuff.co.nz

Despite a number of people saying they’ve been “violently ill” for days after eating salmonella-affected hummus, health authorities have yet to receive any official reports of cases.

New Zealand Food Safety deputy director-general Vincent Arbuckle said since the recall of a number of hummus products from different brands last week, the organisation had not been notified of anyone experiencing symptoms.

Since Friday Stuff has received nearly 30 emails from people who had been knocked down with the illness, many saying it was the sickest they had ever been.

“When I called Healthline, they thought I was having a heart event and told me to go straight to after hours clinic, but I was too sick to go,” one woman said.

Another woman said she was “violently ill” after eating Lisa’s hummus on February 18.

“Seems the affected products have been making the rounds for a while,” she said.

Another person was frustrated that the Ministry of Primary Industries was still saying there were no reports of cases.

“We’ve missed eight days of work in our house and had a lot of discomfort and a new pot of hummus just won’t cut it.”

He said he was aware of at least four cases that had notified the Nelson Marlborough District Health Board. Nelson Marlborough DHB has been approached for comment.

Most of the people who had consumed the hummus said it was the Lisa’s brand and featured a number of garlic-based flavours.

An investigation into how the product was delivered to Foodstuffs South Island and dispatched to the stores is under way.

The first recall of tahini and hummus products was made on Wednesday. It included Greater, Lisa’s and Prep Kitchen products sold in supermarkets and other shops throughout New Zealand, with use-by dates in March and April.

On Thursday further products were recalled, including Seasons Gourmet and Turkish Kitchen-branded products, as well as pouches distributed by My Food Bag, including tahini, including miso dressing, babaganoush crema and tahini yoghurt.

Arbuckle said products could have been on the shelves for weeks before the recall was announced.

The issue was tahini imported from Turkey.

Symptoms of salmonella usually appear within 12 to 72 hours and include abdominal cramps, diarrhoea, fever, headache, nausea and vomiting.