New Zealand Food Safety (NZFS) has supported Davis Trading Company in its recall of Essenté brand Crushed and Sliced Lemongrass as the products could contain foreign matter.
NZFS deputy director-general Vincent Arbuckle said that the concern with these Essenté brand lemongrass products is that they could contain hard plastic.
“If you have any of the affected products, sold at Davis Trading stores and selected retailers throughout New Zealand, don’t eat them. You can return them to the place of purchase for a refund. If that’s not possible, throw them out.”
The recalled products are:
Essenté brand Crushed Lemongrass (200g)
Lot NO LTHP191225 and Best before 09/12/2027
Lot NO LTHP130126 and Best before 05/01/2028
Essenté brand Crushed Lemongrass (500g)
Lot NO LTHP120126 and Best before 05/01/2028
Essenté brand Crushed Lemongrass (5kg)
Lot NO LTHP181225 and Best before 09/12/2027
Lot NO LTHP110126 and Best before 05/01/2028
Essenté brand Sliced Lemongrass (250g)
Lot NO LTHP140126 and Best before 05/01/2026
What the product looks like
The affected lemongrass products were imported from Vietnam. All products have been removed from store shelves, and none have been re-exported.
New Zealand Food Safety has not received any notifications of associated injury.
“As is our usual practice, NZFS will work with Davis Trading Company to understand how this happened and prevent its recurrence."
UPDATE: 11 May 2026
Four additional products have been recalled due to containing the affected lemongrass ingredients:
- FED brand Thai Massaman Beef and Potato Curry with Rice in sizes single (400g), double (700g) and family (1300g) with a best-before date of 22/09/2026. Sold frozen online.
- Naked Kitchen brand Fragrant Thai Red Curry in a 500g plastic package with a use-by date of 04.07.26 and batch number of 040726. Sold at supermarkets throughout New Zealand.
- Pams brand Chicken Laksa Soup in a 500g plastic pouch with a best-before date of 01/07/26. Sold at Four Square, New World, and Pak’n Save supermarkets nationwide.
- Rempah brand Rendang Sauce in a 400g plastic package with a use-by date of 16.06.26. Sold at selected New World, Pak'n Save and Farro Fresh stores in the North Island.
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