Multiple brands of frozen strawberries and fruit products sold at Walmart, Costco and HEB stores are being recalled after being linked to a Hepatitis A outbreak that has sickened nine people.
Why it matters: The Food & Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are urging consumers not to eat the affected fruit and said restaurants shouldn't serve the recalled products.
- Consumers also should check their freezers as the products have a shelf-life of 18 months to two years.
- The products should be thrown out, the health agencies said. Check with stores about possible refunds.
Hepatitis A outbreak linked to frozen strawberries
The FDA said its ongoing investigation has linked the Hepatitis A infections linked to frozen organic strawberries imported from Baja California, Mexico. More products could be recalled, the FDA said in its update this week.
- Hepatitis A is a contagious liver disease that is spread when someone ingests the virus, usually through close personal contact with an infected person or from eating contaminated food or drink, according to the CDC.
Details: There have been nine outbreak-associated cases of Hepatitis A reported from three states — California, Oregon, and Washington — as of Monday, the CDC said.
- Washington has had six cases, two are in California two and one in Oregon.
- Three people have been hospitalized and no deaths have been reported, the agency said.
Flashback: In March, two companies recalled frozen strawberry products, which have also been linked to the outbreak with products sold in Trader Joe's, Meijer, Aldi, select Costco stores and other retailers.
Costco and HEB frozen strawberry recalls
Willamette Valley Fruit Company, of Salem, Oregon, is voluntarily recalling select packages of frozen fruit containing strawberries grown in Mexico "due to the potential for Hepatitis A contamination," per the recall notice.
Radar Farms organic products sold at Costco and HEB stores are included in the recall.
- 48-ounce bags of Rader Farms Organic Fresh Start Smoothie Blend 48-ounce bags were sold at select Costco clubs in Arizona, California, Colorado and Texas.
- 3-pound bags of Rader Farms Organic Berry Trio were sold at HEB stores in Texas.
Wawona Frozen Foods also is voluntarily recalling year-old packages of its Organic DayBreak Blend distributed to Costco clubs in Arizona, California, Colorado, Utah and Washington between April and June 2022.
Walmart strawberry recall lists
The Willamette Valley Fruit recall also includes three Walmart Great Value fruit products with affected products sold in 32 states, the recall notice notes.
- The affected products include 4-pound bags of Great Value Mixed Fruit and Great Value Slice Strawberries and 2-pound bags of Great Value Antioxidant Fruit Blend.
- The Walmart recall website has a 30-page list of stores that sold the recalled products from Jan. 24 to June 8.
- The Great Value affected products have "best by" dates of July and August 2024.
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