The Maryland Department of Health (MDH) is investigating a cluster of salmonella infections in individuals who all reported eating at Moby Dick House of Kabob restaurant, which has multiple locations in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia.
Since September 10, nine confirmed cases have been reported in Maryland. The exact cause of the infections has not been determined and the investigation is ongoing, but eight of nine cases reported consuming Moby Dick House of Kabob hummus.
At this time, Moby Dick House of Kabob has voluntarily suspended sale of hummus and MDH recommends that consumers discard hummus purchased from any Moby Dick House of Kabob. Individuals who have recently eaten food from Moby Dick House of Kabob and are experiencing any adverse medical symptoms should seek medical attention.
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada correspondent Rob Mancini writes:
I hate hummus.
My wife loves it.
Concerns with potential Listeria contamination and food are on-going due to the ubiquitous nature of this pathogen. In Nov. 2016, there was a significant recall of hummus due to potential Listeria concerns with certain Sabra brand hummus products in both Canada and the US. Food producers, manufacturers, retail and foodservice operations are in a constant battle to control this problem and continually seeking new innovative products/solutions for its’ control.
A study published in 2006 found that a combination of citric acid, nisin, and proper hygienic practices served as an effective means to minimize growth of the pathogen in hummus. It may also be a good idea to take into consideration where the ingredients were sourced and ensuring that your facility are following and adhering to good GMP’s.
Lantana Foods, the company that supplied the hummus, notified Harris Teeter of the possible contamination, and the grocer promptly removed it from its cases.
Affected products include Fresh Foods Market Artisan Hummus Pine Nuts with UPC 7203602705.
Harris Teeter is using transaction data to notify shoppers who may have purchased the hummus, according to a press release on the company’s website.
If you purchased any hummus affected by the recall you should discard it immediately or return it to Harris Teeter for a full refund.
Listeriosis is a severe infection caused by eating food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The disease typically affects children, the elderly, and adults with weakened immune systems.
To date, no listeria infections have been associated with the Harris Teeter hummus recall.
Al-Holy, M, Al-Qadiri,H, Lin, M, and Rasco, B. Inhibition of Listeria innocua in Hummus by a Combination of Nisin and Citric Acid. Journal of Food Protection, Vol. 69, No. 6, 2006, Pages 1322–1327
The products come in 16 ounce plastic tubs with SKU numbers printed on the top labels and “USE BY” date codes stamped on the bottom of the tubs, along with the plant identification code “C”. To clarify, products with plant identification code “J” were produced in a different facility and are NOT affected by this recall. In addition, Trader Joe’s Mediterranean Hummus Snack Pack with Pita Chips (SKU #97136) is NOT part of this recall.
To date there have been no confirmed illnesses.
The potential for contamination was noted after testing by the company revealed the presence of Listeria monocytogenes in product manufactured on the same equipment. The company subsequently identified the source of the issue and has corrected the matter. All potentially affected products have been removed from store shelves and destroyed.
The recall includes the products listed below; these were distributed to retail outlets, including food service accounts and supermarkets, in the U.S. and Canada.
Consumers with any product with a “Best Before” date up through January 23, 2017 are urged to discard it. Consumers can find code and “Best Before” date on the lid of each package.
UPC
SKU
Item
040822014700
300051
Sabra Hummus Caramelized Onion 10OZ
040822000017
300066
Sabra Hummus Classic 7OZ
040822011143
300067
Sabra Hummus Classic 10OZ
040822017497
300070
Sabra Hummus Classic 17OZ
040822014687
300074
Sabra Hummus Classic 30OZ
040822431156
300076
Sabra Hummus Classic 5LB – 6ct
040822011112
300079
Sabra Hummus Classic 2OZ – 48ct: 3 x (16 x 2oz)
040822011952
300080
Sabra Hummus Classic with pretzels 4.56OZ
040822011235
300094
Sabra Hummus Garlic 7OZ
040822011242
300095
Sabra Hummus Garlic 10OZ
040822017510
300097
Sabra Hummus Garlic 17OZ
040822012256
300099
Sabra Hummus Garlic 32OZ
040822301121
300100
Sabra Hummus Garlic 30OZ
040822011990
300104
Sabra Hummus Garlic with pretzels 4.56OZ
040822011921
300106
Sabra Hummus Jalapeno 10OZ
040822011341
300117
Sabra Hummus Olive 10OZ
040822011747
300132
Sabra Hummus Pine Nut 10OZ
040822127530
300134
Sabra Hummus Pine Nut 7OZ
040822990011
300136
Sabra Hummus Pine Nut 17OZ
040822012157
300139
Sabra Hummus Pine Nut 32OZ
040822012430
300142
Sabra Hummus Red Pepper 7OZ
040822011549
300143
Sabra Hummus Red Pepper 10OZ
040822017503
300146
Sabra Hummus Red Pepper 17OZ
040822328647
300148
Sabra Hummus Red Pepper 32OZ
040822301114
300150
Sabra Hummus Red Pepper 30OZ
040822434553
300151
Sabra Hummus Red Pepper 5LB – 6ct
040822011969
300153
Sabra Hummus Red Pepper with pretzels 4.56OZ
040822011433
300158
Sabra Hummus Supremely Spicy 7OZ
040822011440
300159
Sabra Hummus Supremely Spicy 10OZ
040822017558
300161
Sabra Hummus Supremely Spicy 17OZ
040822027540
300164
Sabra Hummus Spinach & Artichoke 10OZ
040822014731
300166
Sabra Hummus Sun Dried Tomato 10OZ
040822027700
300266
Sabra Hummus Spinach & Artichoke 32OZ
040822027588
300298
Sabra Hummus Spinach & Artichoke 17OZ
040822990011
300501
Sabra Hummus Pine Nut 17OZ – 6ct
040822017503
300502
Sabra Hummus Red Pepper 17OZ – 6ct
040822020114
300593
Sabra Hummus Basil-Pesto 10OZ
040822330466
300736
Sabra Hummus Tuscan Herb Garden 32OZ
040822342049
301216
Sabra Hummus Classic 32OZ
040822342131
301271
Sabra Hummus Classic with pretzels 4.56OZ – 8ct
040822342209
301283
Sabra Hummus Garlic 23.5OZ
040822017497
301290
Sabra Hummus Classic 17OZ
040822342506
301430
Sabra Hummus Bold & Spicy with tortilla chips 4.56OZ
040822017510
301480
Sabra Hummus Garlic 17OZ – 6ct
040822342728
301481
Sabra Hummus Classic 2OZ – 6 x 2oz (12 x 6pks)
040822011648
301483
Sabra Hummus Lemon 10OZ
040822342735
301484
Sabra Hummus Red Pepper 2OZ – 6 x 2oz (12 x 6pks)
040822330381
301485
Sabra Hummus Tuscan Herb Garden 17OZ
040822010078
301511
Sabra Hummus Classic 2OZ – 16 x 2oz – 12 ct
040822010047
301512
Sabra Hummus Classic 2OZ – 12 x 2oz – 12 ct
040822342988
301566
Sabra Hummus SF Rosemary/Sea Salt 10OZ
040822343145
301585
Sabra Spreads Spicy Chili 8.5OZ – 8ct
040822343138
301586
Sabra Spreads Garlic Herb 8.5OZ – 8ct
040822343121
301587
Sabra Spreads Honey Mustard 8.5OZ – 8ct
040822343114
301588
Sabra Spreads Salt & Pepper 8.5OZ – 8ct
040822343671
301640
Sabra Hummus Taco 10OZ
040822344043
301705
Sabra Hummus 3 Pepper Chili 10OZ
No other Sabra products are affected. In particular, Sabra products not included in the recall are: Sabra Organic Hummus, Sabra Salsa, Sabra Guacamole and Sabra Greek Yogurt Dips.
Shamir has issued a recall on the following items:
All hummus products with expiration dates ranging from September 1, 2016 to September 18, 2016.
All tahini products with expiration dates ranging from September 16, 2016 to October 3, 2016.
All eggplant tahini products with expiration dates ranging from September 1, 2016 to September 18, 2016.
The company noted that all of their non hummus or tahini products are safe for use, as are hummus and tahini products that don’t fall within those date ranges.
Robert Herriman of Outbreak News Today reports Jordanian health officials believe out-of-temperature chickpea hummus is the source of a Shigella outbreak that sickened 80.
The report first appeared in Al Wakeel News.
The tainted hummus was served at a restaurant in Grandl area, Altafilah province.
Communicable Disease Director with the Health Ministry, Dr Mohammad Abdullat said that out of the 26 samples sent to the central laboratory, 16 of them were positive for shigella.
Of all the people hospitalized for their illness, only two remain.
The restaurant has been closed while the investigation into this foodborne outbreak continues.
Loblaw Companies Limited is recalling President’s Choice brand Moroccan-Style Hummus from the marketplace because it may contain the toxin produced by Staphylococcus bacteria. Consumers should not consume the recalled product described below.
Recalled products
Brand Name: President’s Choice
Common Name: Moroccan-Style Hummus
Size: 280 g
Code(s) on Product: Best before 2015 JN 14
UPC: 0 60383 13387 0
What you should do
Check to see if you have recalled product in your home. Recalled product should be thrown out or returned to the store where it was purchased.
Food contaminated with Staphylococcus toxin may not look or smell spoiled. The toxin produced by Staphylococcus bacteria is not easily destroyed at normal cooking temperatures. Common symptoms of Staphylococcus poisoning are nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramping and fever. In severe cases of illness, headache, muscle cramping and changes in blood pressure and pulse rate may occur.
-Learn more about the health risks
-Sign up for recall notifications by email or follow us on Twitter
-View our detailed explanation of the food safety investigation and recall process
Background
This recall was triggered by Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) test results. The CFIA is conducting a food safety investigation, which may lead to the recall of other products. If other high-risk products are recalled, the CFIA will notify the public through updated Food Recall Warnings.
The CFIA is verifying that industry is removing recalled product from the marketplace.
Illnesses
There have been no reported illnesses associated with the consumption of this product.
My kids don’t eat much. Their staples include bagels, buns, peanut butter, carrots, apple sauce.
And hummus.
Their brand of choice is Sabra.
I just got home from a hockey game (a 7-2 loss, we got smoked) and opened up my email and saw that a few Sabra hummus products have been recalled due to Listeria. According to a recall notice on the FDA website, it’s only few specific lots, and the recall was initiated following a routine sample by Michigan regulatory folks found contamination.
And I’m left with a bunch of questions. I need to know this stuff to better understand the risk to my kids.
How much contamination was there (10 cfu/g? 1,000,000 cfu/g?)?
How long was the product in storage/transport before I bought it. Now that I think of it, how long has it been in my fridge?
The stuff I have been feeding my kids has different codes. Were the containers I have made in the same facility? On the same line?
And why is Sabra so specific about the recalled SKUs? Did they have a sanitation clean break between lots?
Have they validated their sanitation procedures?
How well did the sanitation crew do their job?
We’ve seen other recalls expand as further information is discovered, will this one?
In the absence of answers (to stuff that should go into a recall notice) I’m chucking the half-finished containers.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control reports on September 27, 2011, three clinical isolates of Salmonella enterica serotype Bovismorbificans with indistinguishable pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) patterns were identified by the District of Columbia Public Health Laboratory (PHL). Human infection with S. Bovismorbificans is rare in the United States.
Through query of PulseNet, the national molecular subtyping network for foodborne disease surveillance, six additional cases with indistinguishable PFGE patterns were identified in three states (Maryland, Michigan, and Virginia) during the prior 60 days.
All nine patients had eaten at restaurants in the District of Columbia (DC) or northern Virginia <2 weeks before illness onset. This report summarizes the investigation led by the DC Department of Health (DOH), in which 23 cases of S.Bovismorbificans infections were identified among persons from seven states and DC, with illness onset during August 19–November 21, 2011. On May 30, 2012, traceback indicated that contaminated tahini (sesame seed paste) used in hummus prepared at a Mediterranean-style restaurant in DC was a plausible source of Salmonella infections.
DOH restricted the sale of hummus and prohibited the use of hummus ingredients in other food items at implicated restaurants to prevent further illness. This investigation also illustrates challenges associated with ingredient-driven outbreaks and the value of PulseNet for identifying clusters of cases that are geographically dispersed.
A popular brand of hummus has been recalled in New Zealand because it may contain listeria.
Life Health Food (LHF) announced yesterday that they were recalling Lisa’s Organic Hummus Roasted Garlic dip with an expiry date of May 11 2012, because it had tested positive for listeria during routine testing.
About 300 tubs of the hummus have already been sold, virtually all in the South Island.
There have been no reports of illness as of yet, but consumers who felt unwell after eating the product were advised to seek medical advice.
Since September 10, nine confirmed cases have been reported in Maryland. The exact cause of the infections has not been determined and the investigation is ongoing, but eight of nine cases reported consuming Moby Dick House of Kabob hummus.
Have they validated their sanitation procedures?
