Dips

Hummus-Maker Sabra Pushes FDA to Set Legal Definition of Hummus

It better contain no less than 5 percent tahini.
It better contain no less than 5 percent tahini. Photo: Sabra

In a move that would make purists and noted whole-body-hummus-slatherer Ruth Reichl proud, Sabra, the largest producer of hummus in America, has sent an 11-page petition address to the FDA seeking standards to officially define the spread, precise chickpea-to-tahini ratios and all. Despite a full 25 percent of the U.S. population never having heard of it, Sabra says there are lots of companies right now squandering the good will of genuine hummus by fecklessly labeling dips with impostor legumes like black beans and lentils as “hummus.” Because of such injustices, Sabra CEO Ronen Zohar is fuming. “A food item that is not made of chickpeas … is not hummus,” he boldly writes. The proposed standards also assert no less than 5 percent of hummus’s weight is tahini, and point out that similar guidelines already exist in countries like Jordan and Israel. [Business Journals via Reason, Related]

Hummus-Maker Sabra Pushes FDA to Set Legal Definition of Hummus