Consumers Should Not Eat Recalled Products Because of Possible Listeria Contamination

November 22, 2016

• Updates
• Fast Facts
• What is the Problem and What is Being Done About It?
• What are the Symptoms of Listeriosis?
• What Do Retailers Need To Do?
• What Do Consumers Need To Do?
• Who Should be Contacted?

Fast Facts

• Sabra Dipping Company LLC has recalled certain hummus products with a “Best Before” date on or before January 23, 2017, because the products have the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. Listeria monocytogenes can cause a serious, potentially life-threatening infection called listeriosis.
• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration advises consumers not to eat the recalled products and to throw them away.
• An FDA inspection of the Sabra Dipping Company LLC’s manufacturing facility in Colonial Heights, VA, revealed 27 swabs of the processing environment that contained Listeria monocytogenes. Analysis by pulse-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) revealed that one of the strains of Listeria monocytogenes found during the recent inspection matches a strain found in a retail product sample collected in 2015, indicating this strain of Listeria monocytogenes may be persistent in the production environment.
• Symptoms of listeriosis include fever and muscle aches, sometimes preceded by diarrhea or other gastrointestinal symptoms. These symptoms can appear from a few days up to a few weeks after eating contaminated food. Listeriosis primarily affects older adults, pregnant women, newborns, and adults with weakened immune systems.

What is the Problem and What is Being Done About It?

On October 31, 2016, the FDA began an inspection of Sabra Dipping Company LLC’s manufacturing facility in Colonial Heights, VA. Nine environmental samples collected in food processing areas within the facility were positive for Listeria monocytogenes. On November 18, 2016, the FDA informed Sabra that an additional 18 environmental samples collected near food handling equipment were confirmed positive for Listeria monocytogenes.

One of the strains of Listeria monocytogenes found during the recent inspection matches a strain found in a retail product sample collected in 2015, indicating this strain of Listeria monocytogenes may be persistent in the production environment.

The FDA discussed the findings with Sabra including steps taken by Sabra since the inspection. On November 18, 2016, Sabra Dipping Company LLC initiated a voluntary recall of certain hummus products with a “Best Before” date on or before January 23, 2017, urging consumers to throw the product away. The products were distributed to retail outlets, including food service accounts and supermarkets, in the U.S. and Canada.

Consumers can find code and “Best Before” dates on the lid of each package. Below is a list of the recalled products.

The Taylor Farms products subject to the recall are limited to the code dates provided. No other Taylor Farms products are impacted by this recall.

What are the Symptoms of Listeriosis?

Listeriosis is a rare but serious illness usually caused by eating food contaminated with the bacteria called Listeria monocytogenes. Anyone who experiences fever and muscle aches, sometimes preceded by diarrhea or other gastrointestinal symptoms, or develops fever and chills while pregnant after eating products contaminated with listeria should seek medical care and tell their health care provider about eating the potentially contaminated food. Symptoms can appear from a few days up to a few weeks after consumption of the contaminated food. Read more about food safety tips for expectant mothers.

Listeriosis, the third leading cause of death from food poisoning, targets pregnant women and their babies, people with weakened immune systems and those 65 years of age or older. Listeriosis hits these high-risk groups the hardest, accounting for at least 90 percent of reported Listeria infections and resulting in higher rates of hospitalization and death than most other foodborne bacteria. In pregnant women, listeriosis can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, premature labor, and serious illness or death in newborn babies.

What Do Retailers Need to Do?

Retailers should not serve or sell any of the recalled products and should dispose of them. If they do not know the source of their hummus, they should check with Sabra Dipping Company LLC.

Wash and sanitize display cases and refrigerators where potentially contaminated products were stored.

Wash and sanitize cutting boards, surfaces, and utensils used to cut, serve, or store potentially contaminated products.

Wash hands with warm water and soap following the cleaning and sanitation process.

Retailers, restaurants, and other food service operators who have processed and packaged any potentially contaminated products need to be concerned about cross-contamination of cutting surfaces and utensils through contact with the potentially contaminated products.

Regular frequent cleaning and sanitizing of cutting boards and utensils used in processing may help to minimize the likelihood of cross-contamination.
Listeria can grow at refrigeration temperatures in foods. Listeria can also cross-contaminate other food cut and served on the same cutting board or stored in the same area.

Retailers, restaurants, and other food service operators may wish to consider whether other foods available for sale could have been cross-contaminated from the potentially contaminated products, and should be discarded.

Firms who have re-labeled, re-packed, or used the recalled products to produce new products that have not received a thermal kill step should contact the FDA Recall Coordinator in your state to determine whether or not you should initiate a new recall of your product(s). View FDA District Recall Coordinators for each state.

What Do Consumers Need To Do?

The FDA urges consumers to not eat any of the recalled products and to check their homes for the recalled hummus.

To help avoid Listeria, consumers should follow these simple steps:

• Wash hands with warm water and soap for at least 20 seconds before and after handling food.
• Wash the inside walls and shelves of the refrigerator, cutting boards and countertops; then sanitize them with a solution of one tablespoon of chlorine bleach to one gallon of hot water; then dry with a clean cloth or paper towel that has not been previously used.
• Wipe up spills in the refrigerator immediately and clean the refrigerator regularly.
• Always wash hands with warm water and soap following the cleaning and sanitization process.
• Additional recommendations for preventing listeriosis are available at the CDC Listeria website.

Who Should be Contacted?

Consumers who have questions about the Sabra Dipping Company LLC’s recall may call the company’s customer relations hotline at 1-866-265-6761 for additional information and http://www.sabrahummusrecall.com for product reimbursement.

The FDA also encourages consumers with questions about food safety to call 1-888-SAFEFOOD Monday through Friday between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Eastern time, or to consult http://www.fda.gov.