Hummus recall affects hummus dip, walnuts at Trader Joe's, Target
Two U.S. food companies this week issued voluntary recalls of聽walnuts聽and聽hummus聽dips sold at major retailers after listeria was detected in a sampling of the products, the聽Food and Drug Administration聽said on Thursday.
The recalls come weeks after聽Wal-Mart聽settled lawsuits with the families of 23 people who died from a 2011 listeria outbreak linked to cantaloupe grown at a聽Colorado聽farm and sold by the retailer.
St. Louis-based Sherman聽Produce Co聽said it would begin recalling 241 cases of聽bulk walnuts, after a recent routine sampling of the product purchased by stores in聽Missouri聽and聽Illinois聽revealed traces of listeria, the FDA said in a statement.
Massachusetts聽prepared foods manufacturer Lansal Inc, commonly known as Hot Mama's Foods, said it would voluntarily pull聽hummus聽and dip products sold at Target, Trader Joe's and other retailers, the administration said.
Lansal launched the recall of about 14,860 pounds of聽hummus聽after a single 10-ounce container of Target Archer Farms Traditional聽Hummus聽surveyed by the Texas聽Department of Health聽tested positive for listeria, the administration said.
Listeria monocytogenes can lead to serious, even fatal, infections especially in young children, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems. Infections can have particularly harmful effects for pregnant women, including miscarriage and stillbirths.
No illnesses tied to the Sherman Produce聽walnuts聽or Lansal聽hummus聽products have been reported, the FDA said.
The agency urged purchasers of the products to "dispose of them or return them to the place of purchase for a full refund."
