The Pantry manager Camille MacAulay said customers should not consume any white sesame seeds bought from the Invercargill store’s bulk bin this month.
Mrs MacAulay said the shop was unable to get a refund for the 12.5kg bag it had bought from Davis Trading, but it was willing to refund The Pantry customers if they had proof of purchase.
There had been past problems with sesame seeds across multiple brands, but they had not been concerned until MPI released an alert yesterday.
"I received an email from our supplier saying we could have one of them.
"It’s not guaranteed, but we could have one of the batches that were contaminated. So we’ve been asked to follow the steps of removing it off the shelf and letting our customers know and destroying the seeds we have," she said.
The store immediately posted the recall on social media pages, but had not heard back from any customers who may have purchased the seeds.
MPI said the problematic seeds, imported from India, had "Batch Number AAI/3890" on its packaging.
It urged people not to consume them.
Salmonella poisoning symptoms could appear within 12 to 72 hours after eating.
"There have been no reports of associated illness, however if you have consumed any of this product and have any concerns about your health, seek medical advice," MPI said.
Most often, salmonella infections come from eating contaminated food. High-risk foods included: Raw or undercooked meat, especially port and poultry, unpasteurised milk and undercooked eggs.
Symptoms included abdominal cramps, diarrhoea, fever, headache, nausea and vomiting.
While illness usually lasted between four and seven days, more severe cases could last up to 10 days.
