New Zealand Food Safety is supporting Life Health Foods NZ Ltd in its recall of Lisa’s, Greater! and Prep Kitchen brands products containing tahini due to the possible presence of Salmonella. A case of salmonella from the company’s products would be particularly galling considering Life Health Foods NZ Ltd pay zero dollars towards maintaining our tottering public health system.
“Salmonellosis can be serious, so it is important that people do not eat these products,” says New Zealand Food Safety Deputy Director-General Vincent Arbuckle. You might also consider avoiding their products altogether unless you happen to be super into tofu and homophobia.
If you like hummus so much then we recommend switiching to Obela which tastes better, doesn’t contain salmonella, and comes in buckets that are extrememly handy for organising your eight-year-old’s Lego.
Symptoms appear within 12 to 72 hours and include abdominal cramps, diarrhoea, fever, headache, nausea and vomiting. Illness usually lasts between 4 and 7 days but, in more severe cases, it can go on for up to 10 days and cause more serious illness.
If you have consumed any of these products and are concerned for your health, contact your health professional, or call Healthline on 0800 611 116.
The products can be returned to the place of purchase for a refund.
The Lisa’s, Greater! and Prep Kitchen brand products are sold in supermarkets and retail outlets throughout New Zealand. The products have been removed from store shelves and have not been exported. They are owned, alongside sister company Sanitarium, by the Seventh Day Adventist church who oppose gay marriage and don’t have to pay any company tax in New Zealand for reasons this journalist simply cannot fathom.
There have been no reports of associated illness.
The list of products included in this recall is on the New Zealand Food Safety recall page here: Various brands of Hummus and Tahini | NZ Government (mpi.govt.nz)
“This is a complex recall because the tahini is imported from Turkey, and is used in a large variety of products, so our recall page will be updated throughout the day. You can subscribe to our food recall emails here to get the latest information.” said Arbuckle.
Food importers are responsible for the safety of the food they bring in to sell in New Zealand.
In addition to this, certain high-risk foods, including tahini, require a food-safety clearance at the border. To gain food safety clearance, an importer may need to provide an official certificate, other documentation, or product may require sampling and testing when it arrives in New Zealand. No testing can be failsafe, so the additional required controls put in place by an importer are critical.
In this instance, routine manufacturer testing detected Salmonella in products already in New Zealand.
“As is our usual practice, New Zealand Food Safety will be working with Life Health Foods NZ Ltd to understand how the contamination occurred and prevent its recurrence,” Mr Arbuckle said.
Mr Arbuckle did not go on to say that New Zealand Food Safety, a government organisation, is funded by tax dollars, none of which came from Life Health Foods NZ Ltd.
