The FDA has issued a recall for several strawberry products from different brands amid an investigation into multistate hepatitis A outbreaks.
The frozen Great Value and Rader Farms brand products in the most recent recall were sold at Walmart, Costco and HEB stores in more than 30 states. Nine people in three states — Washington, California and Oregon— have been affected by the outbreak as of Tuesday, with three of them requiring hospitalisation.
The infections are linked to frozen organic strawberries imported from Baja California, Mexico, according to the Food and Drug Administration.
“The FDA has identified additional firms that may have received potentially contaminated product,” the agency said in a statement. “FDA has been working with these firms to ensure that any potentially contaminated product is removed from the market.”
Other products subject to previous recalls include smoothie blends and frozen organic strawberries from Wawona Frozen Foods, California Splendor, Scenic Fruit and Meijer. Those were sold at Aldi, Trader Joe’s and Costco stores.
Some of the impacted products have a shelf-life of 18 months to two years, so customers are advised to check their fridges and throw away strawberry products from those brands. They can also check on the FDA website whether a product they’ve bought has been recalled.
Those who believe they have consumed frozen strawberries subject to the recall in the last two weeks and are not vaccinated against hepatitis A should immediately consult with a doctor to determine what the best treatment is for post-exposure.
Hepatitis A symptoms usually appear within 15 to 50 days of ingesting contaminated food or water. Symptoms include fatigue, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.
