Supermarkets sold hummus products after recall; two customers uncontactable

Hummus products recalled due to salmonella contamination have been sold in Canterbury on Saturday after being accidentally sent to stores.

Foodstuffs said in a statement that its South Island Distribution Centre in Christchurch received a delivery from a supplier on Friday of recalled hummus products.

Some of the products were sent on to Foodstuffs South Island stores in error on Saturday and 17 of those were sold to customers. A spokesperson said the tubs of the recalled product were sold in error to 14 customers on Saturday.

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Of the 14 customers known to have purchased the product, Foodstuffs says it initially identified and made contact with 11. One more who had shopped at Pak’n’Save in Timaru was found on Sunday after publicity.

As of Sunday afternoon, Foodstuffs was still keen to hear from two customers who had bought the recalled products.

The 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 Halswell.

The spokesperson said anyone who purchased the products must not eat them, and return them to the store for a refund.

”A full investigation as to why the recalled product was delivered to Foodstuffs South Island and despatched to the stores is underway,” the spokesperson said.

The first recall of the tahini and hummus products was made on Wednesday, and several customers said they had suffered from bad cases of food poisoning after eating them. The Ministry for Primary Industries has not had any reports of illness.

A Foodstuffs spokesperson said as soon as it became of the error on Saturday it contacted the South Island stores who had received the recalled product in error and product was removed from the stores’ shelves and destroyed.“We take food safety extremely seriously,” she said.

The Wednesday recall 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.

The issue was tahini imported from Turkey.

The Foodstuffs spokesperson said all stores already had signage in place where the product was displayed advising a recall was in place for the products.

Three stores were yet to confirm if they sold recalled product. They were Raeward Fresh, Tower Junction, Harewood in Christchurch and Richmond in Nelson.

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