Scenic Fruit Company has recalled frozen organic strawberries and frozen organic tropical fruit blend due to a possible risk of Hepatitis A contamination.
In a Friday release shared by the Food and Drug Administration, the Oregon company said it was recalling frozen berries sold to Costco, Aldi, KeHE, Vital Choice Seafood and PCC Community Markets, as well as the frozen organic tropical blend sold to Trader Joe s because of an outbreak of Hepatitis A illnesses. The organic tropical blend was told at Trader Joe's stores nationwide, and the strawberries were distributed by different brands in Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Utah, Washington state and Wisconsin.
The release said that consumers should not consume the product out of an abundance of caution and return it to their local store for a refund or destroy it, even though Hepatitis A has not been detected in the product.
We have been alerted by our supplier of Trader Joe s Organic Tropical Fruit Blend SKU 51191 that product has the BEST BY dates of 04 25 24, 05 12 24, 05 23 24, 05 30 24 and 06 07 24 may have the potential to be contaminated with Hepatitis A, Trader Joe said in a release. No illnesses have been reported to date, and all potentially affected products have been removed from sale and destroyed. Scenic Fruit Company has stopped production and distribution of the products in question while it investigates the issue alongside the FDA. A spokesman told the NBC News that the strawberries had come from California Splendor. California Splendor announced on Thursday that it was recalling certain bags of Kirkland Signature frozen organic strawberries sold at Costco stores in southern California and Hawaii.
Food safety is our number one priority at Scenic Fruit Company. The owner and president of Scenic Fruit Company, Maridean Eisele, said on Saturday that they work closely with the American Frozen Food Institute and other processors to provide ongoing training for their employees in order to provide a safe environment and the safest product for our customers.
We recall frozen organic strawberries we received from our supplier out of an abundance of caution. She said that the recall was initiated after our supplier initiated a recall due to a possible link to frozen organic strawberries contaminated with the Hepatitis A virus.
Hepatitis A is a contagious liver disease that is caused by exposure to the Hepatitis A virus, including from food. People can be sick for a period of a few weeks to several months. In rare cases, the infection can progress to liver failure, especially in people who are immunocompromised or have a pre-existing severe illness. Illness occurs within 15 to 50 days of exposure.
Symptoms include fatigue, abdominal pain, jaundice, abnormal liver tests, dark urine and pale stool. A Hepatitis A vaccine can prevent the spread of the disease if given within two weeks of exposure to contaminated food.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC, there have been five reported infections linked to frozen organic strawberries in Washington since late last year, including two hospitalizations. The agency said no deaths had been reported.
In the summer of last year, 13 people were hospitalized after a multistate outbreak of Hepatitis A infections linked to fresh organic strawberries.