Watch What You Eat!
- April 2nd, 2009
- View Comments (14)
This has absolutely nothing to do with business, but I think you should be aware of it. Last weekend I bought Sabra® classic hummus at Sam’s Club. I’ve been buying this brand since January. I’ve never had a problem with it until this week. I had some Sunday night and Monday after work. Then, again Tuesday after work.
Around 7:00 p.m. Tuesday night I noticed I was really itchy. My back, arms, and legs were itching. I noticed I had a rash! At first I was thinking my dog got into poison ivy or something, but the rash didn’t look like poison ivy at all. I decided to take a shower and that’s when I saw how red and blotchy I was. I looked sunburnt!
Since I had been eating this hummus all week without incident, I didn’t initially tie it to the allergic reaction. I thought it might be the flavored water I had been drinking. Instead of buying Propel® this week, I bought Fuit2O®. I had been drinking this water all week, too. Tuesday night I had the natural raspberry flavor that I hadn’t tried yet. I thought that was what caused the reaction. It started within 30 minutes of leaving the table.
After showering, I did feel a little better, but I was still red and blotchy and my wrists were a little swollen. My breathing was affected, too. When I was still itching like mad Wednesday morning I decided to stay home from work and try to see the doctor. The doctor gave me a shot of cortisone and prescribed Benedryl and Medrol. The Benedryl helps with the rash, but once it wears off I have to take it again and it puts me to sleep.
Wednesday afternoon a friend of mine who is in Oregon called me and I told her I was home with what I could only describe as anaphylaxis. She asked what I’d eaten. I said the only things it could be are either the hummus or the flavored water. When I said hummus she wanted to know more. I told her it was Sabra™ Go Mediterranean® classic hummus. She said she had the same stuff and her one year old had a rash the past few days. She recalled that she had let him try a little bit. Now, she and her husband had it and didn’t get sick. My husband has been eating it and he is fine. But some of us in the world seem to be allergic, but it’s weird to me because I’m just wondering if it was a bad batch (mine is dated May 18, 2009). I bought the same stuff a few weeks ago and prior to that I was buying the roasted red pepper hummus. I never had a problem until now. If you are a hummus fan and like Sabra, just be aware that it may cause a reaction. I suppose this is true with any food. I just thought I would put the information out there. And I think I’ll stick to my homemade hummus in the future. 
Tags: Anaphylaxis, Health, Hummus
Linda J
MJ
Jessica
beautyinpink
elaine
Stumble It!
Oh man! My daughter and I were just talking about getting some… I told her it would be better to wait until after her mission trip next week. Now I am going to scout out the brands and make sure since we already deal with food allergies around here!
Yea, it’s really strange. I’ve never had a food allergy before and I”ve had this brand before. I have no idea what triggered the allergic reaction, but I think I’m just going to make hummus on my own now.
I have been eating the Sabra brand hummus for a while and never had a problem. I recently bought the jalapeno one it is really yummy! Costco Rocks!!
Thank, Jessie. I have never had a food allergy in my life until this week. I am still not sure if it was the hummus, the flavoring in the water or the combination of the two. I’ll just have to avoid both for now.
Came across your site googling dogs and hummus. My dog ate some tahini i spilled when making my own hummus. Want to make sure it isn’t poisonous.
Try making your own sometime. I use 1/3 cup olive oil, lemon juice, and tahani and blend with a can of chick peas in the cuisinart. I add a dash of red chilli paste for heat and sea salt. yummy!
Sorry you had a reaction. Try making your own and then you control what goes in it.
Thanks! I do make my own when I have time. I don’t have a food processor, though; just a blender. It was real difficult to clean up. Once I have a food processor I’ll make my own. I still don’t have a problem with the roasted red pepper hummus.
I am currently battling the same reaction to the Sabra Roasted Red Pepper Hummus and the Classic Variety! Our family stumbled across the product at our local Sam’s Club about 2 and a half weeks ago, and I have had a terrible rash ever since! I’ve been to see two doctors over the last 2 weeks without any luck in finding a remedy for the painful, itchy bumps that have covered my arms and chest. It was when my sister asked what I had been eating lately that I realized the introduction of the hummus to my daily diet could be a possible source of my discomfort!
I have never had a food allergy in my 22 years, and I am concerned that their Sam’s Club shipments may be contaminated. I love chick peas, and am confident that my reaction is not because of that ingredient alone. Possibly the tahini??
Thank you so much for posting your troubles with the hummus! Without your article, I’m not sure I would have ever found the reason behind this rash! I’m taking the hummus out of my diet, and hoping for some relief in the near future!
Hi Lainey, I think there was definitely a bad batch at some point. I’ve since had the roasted red pepper hummus without incident, however, I do limit my intake in one sitting just in case. I went to the doctor for my rash and was given a shot of cortisone as well as a steroid pack that I took over the course of a few days. That took care of it, but it did take time for the rash to completely disappear. It was awful! Good luck. I hope yours clears up soon!!
SABRA ROASTED GARLIC HUMMUS- POISON IVY LIKE RASH
Hi Lainey, thanks for posting. I have eaten Sabra brand with no incident until this morning. I cant be sure if the rash is from the hummus, but I broke out in an itchy rash on my arm about one 1/2 hour after eating it. I wonder if it is possible that some of us just may have developed a reaction to hummus. Have you tried other hummus brands since then?
I have eaten Sabra hummus for over a year and I love it. However, during a process of elimination with a variety of things including foods, I think the tahini may be the cause of my facial flushing and itching. I only eat it at night and bedtime is when it is worst. I haven’t had any hummus in well over a week and the flushing has stopped. I am so disappointed! I love hummus!
SABRA HUMMUS - ROASTED RED PEPPER — ALLERGIC REACTION!!!!!!!!
I had to go to the emergency room after eating this - I’ve eaten hummus all my life - but that night it was so bad I had to go to the ER and get shots and all! It was aweful. It was the hummus.
Not sure if it was too much of it or just that brand and whats in it….
Anyone else? I won’t buy it anymore that’s for sure.
This exact same thing just happened to me!!! Sabra Hummus….I broke out into hives yesterday….didn’t realize what it was from at all..I was fine all day and I just had some more and I am already covered in splotches. Yikes!!!
My son’s face broke out in hives after eating the roasted red pepper hummus this morning. Strange - it only seems to be the red pepper flavor that is the problem. He is allergic to eggs, but nothing else that we were aware of…
I just googled costco’s red pepper hummus and hives and got your site. I had this problem just this evening and it was all over, itching, hives starting, some of my skin looking sunburnt. I thought something had bitten me and was still biting, but my husband said it looked like hives and asked what I had eaten. The hummous was the only thing this evening - with saltine crackers. So, it must be the culprit. The only other thing that has give me a reaction like this is fresh pineapple so there may be some kind of a derivative or pineapple juice in the hummous.