Several ranges of own-brand houmous sold by Aldi and Lidl have been recalled over fears they may have been contaminated with salmonella.
The products were made by a company called Zorba Delicacies and batches in both German discounter have been impacted and may be unsafe to eat, according to an alert issued by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI).
The affected brands in Aldi are the 180g Deli brand Reduced Fat Classic Houmous Triple Pack with a use-by date of November 3rd and the 180g Deli brand Reduced Fat Houmous Selection Triple Pack with use-by date of November 2nd and 3rd. The 170g Deli brand Basil Houmous topped with Pesto & Parmesan with a use-by date of November 4th has also been recalled.
The Lidl brands impacted are the 170g Meadow Fresh brand Red Pepper Houmous with a use-by date of November 6th and the 180g Meadow Fresh brand Classic Houmous stacker pack with a use-by date of November 6th.
Both retailers have been requested to remove the implicated batches from sale and to display a point-of-sale recall notice in stores where the implicated batches were sold.
Consumers who purchased the products have been told not to eat them and to either dispose of them or return them to the point of sale for a refund.
People infected with Salmonella typically develop symptoms between 12 and 36 hours after infection, but this can range between 6 and 72 hours.
The most common symptom is diarrhoea, which can sometimes be bloody. Other symptoms may include fever, headache and abdominal cramps.
The diarrhoea can occasionally be severe enough to require hospital admission with the elderly, infants, and those with impaired immune systems more likely to have a severe form of the illness.
Symptoms usually lasts between four and seven days.
