Tahini brands recalled after multistate salmonella outbreak

A multi-state salmonella Concord outbreak has led federal food safety authorities to issue a warning and recall of Achdut Ltd. tahini. The FDA and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in an alert that restaurateurs, consumers and other retailers should discard it.

Likewise, authorities said restaurants that may have used the recalled tahini — either repacked or as menu item ingredient in foods without a kill step to eliminate pathogens — should consider recalling their products and reporting the information to a local FDA office. 

The recall included tahini from Achdut's distributors, including Achva, Achdut, Soom, S&F and Pepperwood, and chocolate sweet tahini from Soom. Those products should either be discarded or return for refund, the FDA said. 

The multistate salmonella Concord illnesses linked to the tahini was imported to the U.S. from Achdut based in Ari'el, Israel.  As of Feb. 27, 2019, eight illnesses were identified as associated with Achdut tahini products, but the CDC said this outbreak appears to be over.

The product lot codes range from 18-097 to 18-141. Some brands of tahini manufactured by Achdu may have labels written in Hebrew, so the FDA said those who purchased but can't tell what the lot codes are should throw it out or take it back to the store.