According to the Minnesota Department of Health, two Minnesota residents – both children under one year old – have become ill with salmonellosis linked to eating Krinos brand tahini sesame paste that has been recalled by the manufacturer. State health and agriculture officials today said consumers should not eat Krinos brand tahini from the affected lots and sizes noted below. The product should be discarded, and the lid of the product can be returned to Krinos for a refund.
According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the product was recalled April 28 after the Michigan Department of Agriculture found Salmonella Montevideo in routine sampling. The FDA also found Salmonella Mbandaka in further sampling of the same brand of tahini and the strain matches the DNA fingerprint of a strain associated with a small multi-state cluster of salmonellosis cases.
The Minnesota Department of Health has confirmed that the infection in one of the Minnesota cases matches the Mbandaka outbreak strain and one matches the Montevideo strain. Neither child was hospitalized and both are recovering.
Samples of the tahini from the homes of the Minnesota cases have been collected and are being analyzed by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture Laboratory.
The Krinos brand tahini sesame paste was distributed nationwide through retail stores. It is sold in 1 lb. glass jars, 2 lb. glass jars and in 40 lb. plastic pails. The UPC codes for the products are 0-75013-28500-3 (1 lb. jar), 0-75013-28510-2 (2 lb. jar) and 0-75013-04018-3 (40 lb. pail). The recalled lots have a code stamped on the lid of EXP JAN 01 – 2014 up to and including EXP JUN 08 – 2014 and EXP OCT 16 – 2014 up to and including EXP MAR 15 – 2015.
More information on the recall can be found on the FDA website: http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm351630.htm.