Sainsbury’s has recalled two varieties of its own-brand hummus over fears they may contain a deadly strain of E coli, advising customers who have bought the products not to eat them.
The affected items include 315g containers of JS Classic Houmous, with a use-by date of 13 September, and 200g tubs of JS Lemon & Coriander Houmous with a use-by date of 14 September.
The Food Standards Agency said the affected batches could contain shiga toxin-producing E coli (Stec), and that the items had been recalled as a precaution.
Point of sale notices will be displayed in all stores selling the products until 3 October, explaining to customers why they have been recalled and what to do if they have already bought them.
Sainsbury’s apologised to customers for any inconvenience and advised them not to eat the affected products.
The products covered by the recall can be returned to Sainsbury’s branches for a full refund.
Symptoms of an E coli (Stec) infection include diarrhoea, with bleeding in half of cases, fever and abdominal pain. The illness is usually self-limiting. Most cases lasting up to two weeks.
A small proportion of patients, mainly children, could develop life-threatening haemolytic uremic syndrome, which can lead to kidney failure. A similar condition called thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura may also develop in a small proportion of adults.
Stec bacteria are most prevalent in cattle in the UK, but have also been found in the faeces of deer, rabbits, horses, pigs and wild birds.
Government guidance says the strain is particularly infectious because very few bacteria are needed to cause illness, allowing the disease to spread easily within families and other settings such as hospitals and schools.
People can become ill through eating contaminated food, contact with infected animals or people who have the illness, and drinking water from inadequately treated sources.
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The UK Health Security Agency said there were 2,544 cases of Stec infection in England in 2024, a 26% rise compared with the year before.
Several supermarkets were forced to ditch products in June last year when the sandwich makers Greencore and Samworth Brothers recalled their items during another outbreak of E coli.
The two producers had to recall 60 products found to contain a variety of salad leaf linked to a Stec outbreak.