Warning on organic sprouted chia powder with possible Salmonella contamination

The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (May 30) advised members of the public not to consume a kind of organic sprouted chia powder manufactured by Navitas Naturals in the US which is suspected to contain Salmonella.

The CFS noted that the manufacturer concerned was recalling the affected product in the country. Details of the product are as follows:

Product name: Navitas Naturals Organic Sprouted Chia Powder
Best buy dates: April 30, 2015, through to September 5, 2015
Lot code: UPC 858847000369
Net weight: 8 ounces

"The CFS, through its routine Food Incident Surveillance System, learned about the announcement of the relevant US authorities that the above-mentioned product is possibly contaminated with Salmonella and should be recalled," a CFS spokesman said.

"After investigation, the CFS confirmed that the affected product had been made available for sale in a retail chain. The retailer concerned indicated that it had stopped sale of the affected product. The CFS has conducted checks on the retail outlets concerned and confirmed that the affected product has already been taken off the shelves. In addition, the CFS has alerted the trade to stop selling the product concerned," the spokesman said.

The spokesman advised consumers who possess the particular product to stop consuming it immediately. For the sake of prudence, consumers who have recently bought any of the product concerned and are unsure of the product details should also stop eating it or return it to the retail outlet concerned.

"People should seek medical treatment if they feel unwell after consuming the product," he added.

Salmonella infection may cause fever and gastrointestinal upset such as vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhoea. The effects on people with lowered immunity such as infants and young children could be more severe and sometimes may even lead to death.

"We will continue to closely monitor the situation and liaise with the US authorities to follow up on the incident," the spokesman said.

Ends/Friday, May 30, 2014
Issued at HKT 20:39