Food Standards Agency issues fresh warning about tahini potentially contaminated with salmonella

Friday 24 October 2003

Ref: R792 - 41

The Food Standards Agency is today warning consumers against eating another brand of tahini after tests have shown it may be contaminated with salmonella.

Tahini, a savoury paste made from ground sesame seeds, is a Middle Eastern and Mediterranean speciality, often used to make homous.

The affected brand of product, which is sold in glass jars with a screw top lid, is called Morphakis Tahini - Crushed Sesame Seeds.

All jars of the product with the best before date of 31.12.2006 could potentially be contaminated.

Anyone who has any of this tahini at home should not eat it. It should be thrown away.

The product has been on sale in cash and carry stores, delis and specialist food stores across England and at one outlet in Cardiff.

The 310g clear jars have a black label with a picture of a bowl of tahini on the front, with lettering mostly in white and a gold screw top lid.

Tahini is most likely to be eaten by people from Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, Greek and Turkish communities.

The product, which is manufactured by a firm in Cyprus called C H Morphakis Ltd, has been withdrawn from sale by the importer.

The Agency has asked local authorities to contact shops that might stock the product, to ensure that it is removed from sale. The Agency has informed the European Commission and asked that the Cypriot authorities investigate the contamination of this product.

Random tests were carried out on this brand last week in a follow-up investigation after another tahini product made by a different manufacturer was found to be contaminated with salmonella earlier this month. This product was withdrawn from restaurants and cafes.