After salmonella setback, Smiling Hara’s back in business

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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After distributing a product with salmonella that sickened over 80 people, the local tempeh company is back selling product locally.

Though a lawsuit against the company is still pending, the salmonella in Smiling Hara tempeh was traced to a starter culture from Tempeh Online in Rockville, Maryland, and did not originate with Smiling Hara or the tempeh’s place of production, Blue Ridge Food Ventures.

From the Smiling Hara Facebook page:

We are pleased to announce that the long and arduous process of evaluation is complete and Smiling Hara will once again begin producing tempeh as of Wednesday, July 25. We are excited and honored to once again begin serving our community with a safe, delicious, and wholesome product. We will begin by making deliveries to our restaurant customers next week, followed by groceries sometime is August.

You can come see us at Asheville City Market and North Asheville Tailgate on August 18th.

We have spent the last three months reviewing our processes with food scientists from Cornell University, tempeh experts from around the world, and other food safety specialists in food production. We are more confident than ever in the safety of our product. We have located a source of tempeh starter that performs lab test on every single batch, and produces a tempeh that is incredibly smooth, nutty, and mellow.

Quite honestly, it is the best tempeh we have ever made.

Smiling Hara on Facebook

Smiling Hara website