Food Standards Agency
Wednesday 1 July 2009
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Listen to this siteWednesday 8 October 2003
Ref: 2003/0422
The Food Standards Agency is warning consumers today against eating a brand of Tahini products after tests found they might be contaminated with salmonella.
Tahini, a savoury paste made from ground sesame seeds, is a Middle Eastern and Mediterranean speciality. The affected brand of product, which is sold in plastic containers with a screw top lid, is called Super Tahineh.
The full brand name on the side of the container reads:
Samih Hassan Al Yaman & Sons
ABOU EL HASSSAN
AL YAMAN
The Founder and The Original
Super Tahineh
100% Crême de Sesame
All products with best before dates from January 2005 up to, and including, July 2005 could be affected. Anyone who has any of this Tahini at home should not eat it because it may be contaminated with salmonella. It should be thrown away. Tahini, which is normally sold in delis and specialist food stores, is a product most likely to be eaten by people from Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, Greek and Turkish communities.
The plastic containers are beige coloured, with lettering on the label in green and a green screw-top lid. They come in 454g and 907g sizes. The name of the manufacturer is marked on the side of the container as S.H. Al-Yaman & Sons.
The Lebanese-made product is being withdrawn from sale by London-based importer Damasgate. The Agency has asked local authorities to contact shops that might stock the product to ensure that it is removed from sale.
Tests were carried out on the product last week in a follow-up investigation after catering-sized 16kg tins made by the same manufacturer were found to be contaminated with salmonella. All of these products were withdrawn from restaurants and cafes last month.
Pictures of all these products can be found at the links below. The Agency has informed the European Commission about this brand of Tahini and requested that action be taken by the authorities in Lebanon to investigate the salmonella contamination of this product.
Back to topDownload image
(Image 315KB) Al Yaman tahini 907g View the productDownload image
(Image 177KB) Salmonella contamination of Lebanese tahini products Read the Food Hazard Warning
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