Hummus lawsuit tackles "standards of identity" in food products

Popular US hummus company Sabra, who was then enjoying the success of its chickpea-and-tahini spread in America, has challenged the existence of other hummus producers who do not have at least one of the main ingredients of the Middle Eastern food dip in a lawsuit. Filed with the US Food and Drug Administration, Sabra is seeking to create a set of standards that could be a landmark set of rules to be applied to manufacturers of hummus who falsely imply that they are composed with obvious ingredients.

The 11-page proposal filed by Sabra, calls for "standards of identity," which Yahoo explains is a legal term for specific products like ketchup, peanut butter, fruit preserves, jams, and butters; and white chocolate.

Sabra chief technology officer Tulin Tuzel said in the statement about the company's action, "As the popularity of hummus has soared in the United States over the past decade, the name has been applied to items consisting primarily of other ingredients. From black beans and white beans to lentils, soybeans, and navy beans, everyone wants to call their dip ‘hummus.'"

According to its news release, Sabra is seeking "standards of identity" for hummus as, "the semisolid food prepared from mixing cooked, dehydrated, or dried chickpeas and tahini with one or more optional ingredients."

The action sought from the food regulator is obviously a business strategy for Sabra. Sabra director of marketing Greg Greene has said that the hummus category alone in the US in the last five years has grown by 75%, and that the company currently holds 65% of the market share. With products from well-known US brands like Trader Joe's Edamame Hummus, Eat Well Enjoy Life Sweet & Spicy Black Bean Hummus, it was quite easy for Sabra to ensure through the action that the company is the leading provider of hummus products with actual ingredients.

Greene told Yahoo News, "What we want is to make sure that when people hear the word ‘hummus' in the U.S., they understand what they're getting. If you call a peanut butter ‘almond peanut butter,' you would expect there to be peanuts in it."

Tags

Sabra, Trader Joe's, Eat Well, US Food and Drug Administration

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