Big Hummus wants the government to regulate your hummus

[Recursion]

http://www.vox.com/2014/5/22/5742270/big-hummus-wants-the-government-to-regulate-your-hummus

There is a scourge of hummus impostors making their way into American grocery store shelves — a problem that a major hummus manufacturer thinks requires the heavy hand of government regulation.

Sabra Hummus has petitioned the federal government to create a standard definition of what actually counts as "hummus." The Food and Drug Administration already does this with some other products like cream cheese (which must be 33 percent milk fat for manufacturers to market it as cream cheese). Sabra argues the hummus market has run amok; its time for Uncle Sam to step in.

...

As a traditional Middle Eastern dip, hummus has two crucial ingredients: chickpeas and tahini (the latter being a paste made from ground sesame seeds). Sabra has surveyed the market and, in documents submitted to the FDA, finds these two ingredients decidedly lacking in many purported hummus products today. Here's a bit of their list of the worst violators (the full list is here).

...

"The marketing of a 'hummus' product made from legumes other than chickpeas is akin to the marketing of guacamole made with fruit other than avocados," Sabra argues.

I do get irritated when I see phrases like "black bean hummus".

[babylonsister]

1. I love my Sabra hummus

(roasted garlic-yum!); this is good to know, thanks!

[sakabatou]

12. That's the brand my parents buy

[MineralMan]

2. Can one not just read the label.

I don't even like chickpeas. Not everyone does. Hummus doesn't really have a legal description in the US. READ THE LABEL.

[Spider Jerusalem]

33. If it doesn't have chickpeas in it, it's not hummus, it's that simple.

The name literally means "mashed chickpeas" in Turkish. Anyone who knows what "hummus" is and sees "hummus" on the label has a reasonable expectation that it will, in fact, contain chickpeas.

[pipoman]

35. Except all of the examples in the op

Have the substituted ingredient in the name. It isn't like they are just calling it hummus trying to trick people.

[Spider Jerusalem]

37. Sure it is, because *it's not hummus*.

It makes about as much sense as "all-beef ham".

[pipoman]

39. So a hummus purist is going to

Accidentally buy something bright green with a label that says "edamame hummus" or something gray that says "black bean hummus" on the label not understanding that it isn't traditional hummus? They are tricked into buying it? No, it is simply a product that obviously appeals to some people. The word hummus means mashed chick peas in Turkish, it means chick peas, tahini, garlic, salt, lemon juice, and olive oil in the US...and probably most people in the US don't even know this, they think it is a dip served with pita without a clue the ingredients.

This is simply an example of an industry leader trying to inflict damage to their competitors and nothing more, imho.

[Spider Jerusalem]

42. Not really, no

this is more like not allowing inferior imitations to mis-brand themselves. Like how you can't call it "Prosciutto" if it doesn't come from Parma in Italy, or "Champagne" if it's not from Champagne; like how Kraft singles and Hershey's don't legally qualify to be "cheese" and "chocolate" in the EU.

[pipoman]

47. Is "hummus" a brand?

Does the company complaining own the brand? I just am disinclined to care what this company wants.

[muriel_volestrangler]

40. Or 'turkey ham' and 'turkey bacon'? (nt)

[SQUEE]

41. or turkey bacon?

I know if I look at a label stating turkey bacon it is not a pork product, i know if I see edemame or black bean humus, its not going to traditional chick peas...
People should make thier own any way, so easy and tastes much better.

[MineralMan]

49. In the United States, hummus is not one of the foods that has

a strict FDA description. While it may mean something in Turkish, it's not really an English word. As I said, the ingredients label should be adequate for people who are concerned with the actual contents, since all ingredients are listed. For those who do not want hummus that contains other legumes or items, it's easy enough to read the label.

[Chan790]

64. This would be incorrect.

Not your translation...which is iffy only because it doesn't translate to anything, it's a proper name of a dish.

It's incorrect because hummus as a dish has never strictly meant chickpeas...the Turks have been using a variety of legumes or mixed legumes to make hummus for as long as it's been a thing. Lentils, fresh green peas, soybeans and gandules (pigeon peas) being common.

This is exactly the kind of argument I expect out of Sabra however...it's like some generic salsa maker owned and run by non-Mexicans trying to dictate what can be in salsa to Mexicans. Sabra's product is as authentic as what they're complaining about.

(Edit: Sabra isn't Turkish. It's an American company founded by immigrants from Israel that was subsequently sold to European foods distributor Strauss who altered the recipes to appeal to a broader American and European audience, then sold half of it to Frito-Lay, a PepsiCo subsidiary. It's an American take on an Israeli take on an Arabic food now being produced by a major American food producer. It's the Kirk Lazarus of Mediterranean foods. Kirk, as you may recall, was the "dude playing a dude playing another dude" in Tropic Thunder.)

[Spider Jerusalem]

71. My translation came from the OED, blame them

(altough "hummus" is also Arabic for "chickpea", so yes, it does mean it's made of chickpeas.)

[Codeine]

70. It's commonly made with fava beans in many places in the Middle East.

I enjoy a white bean hummus myself, though I also like the traditional chickpea recipe. But Sabra band is pretty awful.

[karynnj]

77. In fairness, if it says BLACK BEAN HUMMUS, it at least suggests you may want to look at the label.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

3. So long as they identify the ingredients who cares?

I like Sabra but the reason it's moister is because they use more oil hence more calories.

[FSogol]

4. Eat humus? I've been dumping it in my garden

[BainsBane]

5. I like Sabra's

but I usually buy mine from a local place called Holy Land. Holy Land's falafel has gone downhill though, and that pisses me off.
Where is Big Falafel when we need it?

I don't eat that weird non-fat hummus. Ick.

[gollygee]

6. Non-fat hummus?

I cringe at "non-fat sour cream." How can any kind of cream be non-fat? It needs to be called something else at that point.

[BainsBane]

7. yeah, and hummus is healthy already

The fat comes from olive oil and tahini. If it's not creamy, it's not good. Endame hummus? I wouldn't go near it with a ten foot pole, though I do like endame on its own.

[Recursion]

10. "non-dairy half and half"

That one still gets me.

[Dorian Gray]

8. I get irritated when I see edamame hummus

and black bean hummus, too. I make all that stuff, but I call it bean dip.

I have no problem with not calling it hummus.

Just call it bean dip. Is that so bad?

[kwassa]

9. DO YOU THINK THAT'S BAD? LOOK AT WHAT THEY CALL A MARTINI THESE DAYS !!!111!!!

Sorry for yelling, I just got a little upset.

to wit: Martini, more correctly, Martini & Rossi, is a brand of dry vermouth. The classic Martini mixed drink is made with gin and vermouth, and olives.

Do any of these modern abominations with the name of Martini have any vermouth or even a whiff of gin?

edit to add: My wife has been making her own hummus for more than 20 years. What lately has really improved it is getting really good tahini and chickpeas from ethnic supermarkets. She also puts in a ton of garlic. This ethnic market has 9 different kinds of tahini!

[Luminous Animal]

13. Well, I do like my gin and vermouth with a twist! Try getting a martini in Barcelona...

They look at you like you have 3 heads.

So, martinis are my cocktail of choice. Every bar I went to (sans one) thought to give me vermouth on the rocks so I would ask for a gin and tonic instead (lots of British tourists over the centuries so that was an easy call). One bartender, in a small old man bar, invited me behind the bar to make my own. He really liked it and asked me to make another while he wrote down the procedure.

About that sans one? The bartender enthusiastically told me that he knew how to make a martini with a twist. And then he went to the back (likely looking it up on the internet - cool!) and didn't come out for 10 minutes.

He came back with opposite proportions of gin to vermouth! I drank it. It was foul. But I am glad he tried.

[kwassa]

14. I've heard that ordering a Martini in Europe gets you vermouth on the rocks.

and that this is actually a common drink there.

[Luminous Animal]

16. Those poor bastards.

[kwassa]

24. Vermouth is good in cooking, too.

I've lost the recipe ... but it was chicken, potatoes, rosemary, garlic, onions braised in vermouth, and it was fantastic.

[Recursion]

23. Yes, if you want gin & vermouth you have to order a "martini cocktail"

Though at least in vienna you're still likely as not to get vodka

Trivia: for all the hipster swooning over absynth, vermouth contains much more wormwood (its name, in fact, is just the German word for wormwood).

[kwassa]

25. so I was a hipster, and didn't even know it.

Hipper than hip.

[jmowreader]

11. If hummus is outlawed, only outlaws will have hummus

Let me guess: The American people prefer edamame hummus to chickpea hummus, leading Sabra to lose sales.

This is something the Republicans can't wrap their heads around: Most industries are regulated because the industries themselves asked to be. Name the regulated industry, and all the ones that don't pose a clear danger to the public are regulated because the industry demanded it.

[Luminous Animal]

18. I don't think that USA-ans prefer edamame "hummus", I think it about preserving a cultural

contribution.

Hummus is hummus. The others are not. Just as parmesan is parmesan. Kobe is Kobe. Champagne is champagne.

[Recursion]

27. Bourbon must be made in Kentucky

Otherwise it's just sourmash...

[jmowreader]

75. Not any more

Originally bourbon had to be made in Bourbon County, Kentucky. Then it was "anywhere in Kentucky." Now, it can be called bourbon if it's US made and the grain bill is appropriate for bourbon. Dry Fly Distilling in Spokane makes bourbon.

[jmowreader]

31. You picked three foods American producers stole the names of

What would you like a hummus-like food made from legumes other than chickpeas to be named?

[Luminous Animal]

32. Dip? Spread? Because they are not hummus.

[Chan790]

67. Actually, they are.

Turkish, Arabic and Israeli chefs have been making hummus with lentils and soybeans longer than Sabra has existed.

This is more like Exxon trying to declare that all gasoline not-their-gasoline cannot be sold as gasoline because they're the only ones using the exact process their predecessor corporation Standard Oil invented to refine gasoline.

[Luminous Animal]

74. The word hummus is the actual arabic and hebrew word for chickpea.

Certainly you can make a spread from any bean but it is not hummus.

[muriel_volestrangler]

43. Parma, Kobe and Chamgane are places

The foods that Sabra is attacking all have 'statements of identity' that list the different ingredient.

[KittyWampus]

50. Guacamole is made from avocados. Now I'm going to be challenging myself all day

trying to think of foods that have a specific ingredient implied in the name.

Foie gras?

Pea soup?

[Chan790]

66. It's actually a disingenous effort by a major corporation to label all product not-their-own...

as inauthentic.

This chafes for a few reasons...one, their product isn't authentic either...two, they're masquerading it as an attempt to preserve a cultural contribution...three, as I explained to Spider above...they're talking out their ass, their claim is a lie--hummus isn't like Parmesan, Kobe or Champagne...it's never been one thing as they're claiming it is.

[pipoman]

38. And most industries that ask for regulation

Don't do it for the benefit of consumers or for the purity of the product/profession, they do it to impede competition. Licensing, insurance, bonds, and a myriad of other rules and regulations cost money and require time and effort to comply with. ..it is usually an effort to discourage competition.

[whistler162]

73. One way of cutting the crime rate!

make the criminals eat hummus!

[reformist2]

15. I like hummus, but only buy it when it's on sale.

I need to learn how to make it at home. :p

[enough]

19. Simple. Mix chickpeas, tahini, garlic, olive oil and whatever amount of lemon juice you like.

That's it. By hand, in the food processor, or whatever. No need to buy it pre-made, nothing is easier. This way you can have it exactly as you like it.

[FSogol]

21. +1. Also, add a dash of Tabasco and some red pepper flakes.

[enough]

22. That's what I mean about having it just as you like it. For me, the hots

are not part of the hummus, but need to be somewhere in the near neighborhood. For you, they're in it. All I know is life goes better with hummus, however you like it!

[sir pball]

29. I adore Tabasco to no end, but the best, the only, way to make spicy hummus

Is with harissa. I brew my own, TFMP has an amazing recipe from her current job, but there's excellent ready-made to be found in tubes at any good market.

Me, I generally prefer mine simply robust, with about a third garlic by weight, enough Catalan Arbequina olive oil to almost break it, a solid dose of lemon and oceanically salty. No accounting for taste..

[enough]

82. Hmmm......interesting, much to ponder here. (nt)

[Scootaloo]

78. Let's not forget the rough-cut cumin leaves

I really truly don't "get" buying the little cartons of hummus. It's like $6 for a little thing of bean paste where i live. i can just make it myself for about two bucks... And still have chickpeas left over for falafel!

[surrealAmerican]

17. At least the examples all have tahini.

That's next, you know: first you replace the chick peas, then you replace the tahini. Pretty soon you're eating lentils mixed with ground sunflower seeds, which might not be bad, but would definitely not be hummus.

[Recursion]

26. There's a second table of tahini-less offerings, sadly

The rest of the article gets into that...

[LeftyMom]

20. Sabra hummus tastes like spackle.

They should stop worrying about the definition of hummus and start working on a recipe that contains a non-homeopathic dose of garlic.

[Chellee]

30. LOL

homepathic dose of garlic

[Scootaloo]

79. Garlic's good! But yes, Sabra's no better than store brand

It's all wet, curdled horn-and-hoof glue, as far as i can tell.

The best hummus is homemade hummus. Not this pureed glop squirted into a plastic clonker.

[TexasTowelie]

28. It's ironic that you posted this story on the same day that I posted this in LBN:

7 tons of hummus recalled from Target, Trader Joes (Listeria contamination)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014809753

[DetlefK]

34. Or you make it yourself:

- half a pound of cooked chickpeas (e.g. canned and drained)
- 2-3 cloves of garlic
- 2-3 tablespoons Tahini
- ~2 tablespoons lemon juice, pinch of salt, olive oil

1. Rinse the chickpeas until they stop foaming and drain.
2. Add a little bit of olive oil and mash them (just like mashed potatoes).
3. Add Tahini, lemon juice, salt and the finely chopped garlic to taste. Add more olive oil until the mixture is spreadable to your liking.

Easily lasts a week in the fridge. When it gets dry, it gets a brown crust, so cover the bowl.

Best served at room-temperature or even luke-warm.

The traditional decoration is a mixture of molten butter and paprika-powder.

[pipoman]

36. When I have time

I use dry chick peas, avoid the preservatives necessary in canned.

[Le Taz Hot]

45. I don't use preservatives when I can.

Just one more advantage of canning your own.

[pipoman]

46. The foam part of the previous post indicated

Commercially canned chick peas. Do you can chick peas? I have never tried to raise them.

[Le Taz Hot]

51. I've not tried it yet

but I've canned pretty much everything else so no reason why I can't can garbanzo beans/chickpeas.

[Le Taz Hot]

44. The Fresno Deli

still makes better hummus than I do. They also sell local-produced grape leaves and the BEST pita bread. It's all made local and it supports local businesses, unlike Trader Joe's which is a chain and sells stuff that has traveled thousands of miles.

[KittyWampus]

48. Labeling and words are important. The cultural ignorance

of calling edamame hummus is kind of sad.

I make my own hummus though. It's so easy and take no time at all.

I eat a lot of chickpeas.

[chrisa]

52. No matter the intentions of this, I kind of agree.

Does "Hummus" mean "gooey stuff that you can dip stuff into?" That's like saying Ranch dressing is the same thing as guacamole.

If it has no ingredients that hummus has, it's not hummus. It's artificial hummus. I have the same problem with guacamole products.

[Chan790]

68. In the strictest most-honest sense...

hummus means crudites dip made with legumes.

That's it. No further precision. It's as generic as "bean dip."

If you took a Mexican bean dip recipe made with pinto or black beans...and started to produce it commercially in Turkey or the Middle East for sale there, it would be marketed, stocked and labeled as hummus. (Probably "American-style hummus" or "Mexican-style hummus" to clarify it wasn't what was typically sold as hummus.) There is no local content-signifier or brand appellation...it's just bean dip. For Americans, it's bean dip being produced in the style of the Middle East.

The irony here is that most hummus produced in Turkey doesn't mean the requirements Sabra is asking for to be sold as hummus.

[randys1]

53. Government regulations? Really?

Why in god's name would you want an objective, thoroughly honest entity to regulate whether or not your food is safe, surely the free market will do that?

I mean if company A sells you food that kills your 4 yr old son, surely company B will make safer food that wont kill your 5 yr old daughter, right?

you can rely on that, right?



My son loves this stuff, me not so much

[get the red out]

54. I like the real thing

I just don't buy it if it isn't real "hummus", since that is what I like. I look at the weird stuff and think "eww, don't want to dip my broccoli in that".

They have a point, hummus without the basic ingredients is not hummus, it's black bean dip or Edamame dip.

[Trajan]

55. I like White Bean Hummus ... I despise Garbanzo beans

Tahini, while plant-based, is really not very healthy for those with circulatory concerns ... I seek hummus without Tahini for that reason

If I make a concoction at home, using only white beans and without Tahini, I intend to call it hummus ... like it or not ...

[Not Me]

56. I make my own...couldn't be easier

2 cans of garbanzos, a little olive oil, tahini, and a clove of garlic. Toss them all in the Vitamix and run it for 60 seconds. Add a 1/4 cup of sundried tomatoes and pulse to chop them up a bit.
It's a quarter of the cost of supermarket hummus and tastes better!

[cally]

57. How long can you store this

I make my own sometimes when I know more people will eat it. Otherwise I end up with Tahini left over and leftover hummus.

[Not Me]

63. We make about a pint at a time...

and go through it in a week. Keep it refrigerated in sealed container.

[cally]

58. Leave out the sugar in it and I might agree for the need for regulation

I don't buy almost any of the manufactured hummus because they add sugar. Ick!!!

[cleanhippie]

59. If I market "chocolate popcorn" and there is more chocolate than popcorn to be found in the product

Is it still not "chocolate popcorn"?

While I understand Sabra's argument, all of the products clearly state just what the "hummus" is mostly made from.

It seems the word "hummus" is being used to describe a product in general. And if I see "Black bean Hummus", it seems obvious to me that black beans are incorporated into the hummus mixture.


If they were selling "hummus" but only used edamame, and it didn't clearly state that on the package, the argument would be much stronger.

[Recursion]

60. If you market chocolate popcorn and it contains hominy and cayenne

I think your competitors would be right to ask you to stop calling it that.

[Scootaloo]

80. Actually that sounds like most top-shelf chocolate bars these days

Don't forget the cocoa nibs and dried cranberries! 'Cause a chocolate bar that doesn't chew like a half-mile of dirt road just isn't a chocolate bar these days, I guess

[Autumn Colors]

61. I like Cedar's brand

The two types on that chart seem to be new flavors they just introduced. Most of their other kinds of hommus fit the bill ingredient wise. I like their regular old "roasted red pepper" flavor.

Listed Ingredients: Fresh Steamed Chickpeas, Sunflower Oil, Olive Oil, Sesame Tahini, Water, Roasted Red Peppers, Sea Salt, Citric Acid, Garlic, Paprika, Guar Gum.

Cedar's is a family-owned company from Massachusetts, and although you can find that brand all over the US, I'm in Connecticut, so being a New England company is a plus for me. Other bonus points for me are that their hommus is gluten-free certified and Non-GMO Project verified.

Sabra's, on the other hand, is owned by Pepsi.

Just tossing in my two cents. I've tried Sabra's and didn't like it as much. One thing I hated is that in their garlic flavor, they put all the garlic in the center of the container instead of it being mixed throughout the hommus.

[Chan790]

62. I only had to read the headline to know this was going to be Sabra.

Sabra should spend more time worrying about the quality of their own product...their hummus sucks. It's like the Old El Paso of hummus...ubiquitous because it's bland and inoffensive, but not terribly good.

I've had all four of those products...while they may not be traditional hummuses, they all have something in common...they're better than anything Sabra makes.

[Codeine]

69. It's terribly bland.

I like a lemony, garlicky hummus with lots of tahini -- Sabra mostly tastes of mashed garbanzos with little in the way of other flavoring.

Sabra's hardly unique in that, however; I have some friends who make their own hummus and rave about it, but it's like eating wallpaper paste. Everyone smiles and eats it, but damn -- a little flavor guys!

[phleshdef]

72. Sabra Supremely Spicey or Garlic hummus is anything but bland.

If you just buy the plain kind, that's kinda bland, but all hummus is bland unless you add heat and spice to it.

[PoliticAverse]

65. In related news: Hummus, other dips sold at Target and Trader Joe's recalled for listeria risk

http://www.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-dd-target-trader-joes-hummus-five-layer-dips-recalled-listeria-20140522-story.html

[karynnj]

76. I have thought it weird that suddenly many bean dips are labeled "hummus"

Many of them are very good. My suspicions are that the popularity of many very non traditional versions of hummus including many made by the people suddenly wanting "rules" are the reason for so many bean dips being available. To me, that is a good thing.

I do know what hummus is and have made it myself. Sabra itself had a pretty non traditional smoothness to it that I found made it more acceptable to people who were not that interested in the drier older products.

Seems someone is not happy with their market share in this expanded market. Me - I only buy a VT brand when I buy a commercial one.

[11 Bravo]

81. I'm not sure I want to live in a world where such a thing as "Big Hummus" exists.

[cyberswede]

83. We get ours from a local falafel place.

Made fresh daily.

[Avalux]

84. I make my own, thank you.

Chick peas, tahini, lemon juice, olive oil, smoked paprika, salt and pepper.

I like my ingredients best.

[DavidDvorkin]

85. I feel that way about herbal "teas"

If it's not tea leaves, it's not tea.

[McCamy Taylor]

86. Chickpeas/garbanzos have ALL the essential amino acids. So do Soy Beans.

The other beans do not. So, you could live off Hummus. Or Tofu. But, if you try to live off fake "Black bean hummus" you will not get all your essential amino acids, meaning that the protein gets turned into carbs in your body and you are starved for protein.

Hummus must have at least some garbanzo. It does not have to be 100% but any hummus without a chickpea is not hummus---it is not a complete vegetable protein source.

Like calling Orange Soda "orange juice" because it is colored orange.

[LiberalElite]

87. Whatever, Sabra. I don't eat your hummus

because it contains potassium sorbate. I don't like the preservative aftertaste. I purchase brands that don't have preservatives.