Has the hummus recall been handled properly?

Hummus products subject to a recall due to salmonella contamination concerns could have been on shelves for weeks.

And while the Ministry for Primary Industries has not had any reports of illness, some social media users say they have been affected.

One said two members of his family had fallen ill. Another said she had been sick for four days.

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.

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The issue was tahini imported from Turkey.

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

Food Safety deputy director-general Vincent Arbuckle said the food safety system included sample testing at the border and then post-border sample testing by food manufacturers.

“In this instance, the testing by the manufacturer picked up the possible salmonella contamination in imported tahini.”

Sample testing was an accepted method for food safety systems, he said.

“It would be impractical and very costly for consumers for every single imported or manufactured product to be tested prior to release. No country has such a system.

“It is the food business’s responsibility to ensure food is safe for sale, and they are required to have plans and processes in place.”

Tahini was known as a high-risk food, and it is implicated in detections of salmonella from time to time around the world. This meant tahini and crushed sesame seeds were subject to a more stringent process, requiring food safety border clearance, on top of all importers being legally responsible for assessing and confirming safety of imported food and ingredients before they were sold.

“We will closely look at this recall and if there is need to tighten processes for food businesses, then we will take action,” Arbuckle said.

The second recall came after other companies with the same ingredients and batch supplier followed the initial recall.

“New Zealand Food Safety has not been notified of any confirmed associated cases of salmonellosis by Te Whatu Ora,” Arbuckle said.

Anyone who was unwell with severe salmonella symptoms should talk to their health professional or call Healthline.

“Our focus at the moment is to ensure that all affected product is removed from sale – and from people’s fridges and pantries – as quickly as possible.”