The Shamir Salads company announced this morning that the CEO of the "Tehinat Hanasich" company that provides raw tehina for use in Shamir's products, had notified Shamir executives about a sampling test of the production line in which Salmonella bacteria were found.
Two other tests done by customers also found irregularities, with the possible presence of Salmonella. The raw tehina is used in several of Shamir's tehina and hummus based products.
The Health Ministry said in a statement that "last night Ministry inspectors visited the 'Tehinat Hanasich' factory following a report of possible Salmonella in the factory. Preliminary results of the inspection locate the problem in one production line. Some 200 tons of raw tehina are being kept in the factory and are slated for destruction. The factory has notified its costumers about the infected stock. Our investigation is ongoing."
The Shamir company immediately initiated a product recall and released a message to the public which included a list of the products that might be infected.
"The Shamir Salads company apologizes for the mistake that occurred through no fault of ours, and is working to remove all potentially infected products from supermarket shelves and other distribution avenues."
The company emphasized that all Shamir products that aren't tehina or hummus based are perfectly in order and fit for consumption. In addition, the tehina and hummus products which aren't within the range of the date of production for the recall are also fit for consumption.
The incident comes on the heels of a similar Salmonella infection found in Telma cereals, which also resulted in a product recall. The Knesset State Control Committee is holding a special session today (interrupting the summer recess) to discuss the Telma debacle.