REGULATORS TIE HEPATITIS CASES TO STRAWBERRIES
U.S. and Canadian regulators are investigating a hepatitis outbreak that may be linked to fresh organic strawberries.
In a joint weekend statement, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Public Health Agency of Canada said illnesses in Minnesota, California and Canada occurred after people consumed FreshKampo and H-E-B brand strawberries.
The agencies said the strawberries were purchased between March 5 and April 25. They were sold at various U.S. retailers, including Aldi, Kroger, Safeway, Walmart and Trader Joe’s. In Canada, the affected strawberries were sold between March 5-9 at Co-op stores in Alberta and Saskatchewan.
The potentially affected strawberries are past their shelf life, but health officials say consumers who purchased them and froze them to eat later should throw them away.
There have been 17 illnesses — at least 15 of which were listed in California — and 12 hospitalizations reported in the U.S., the FDA said. Ten cases and four hospitalizations have been reported in Canada.
Mexico-based FreshKampo, which grew the strawberries, said in a statement Sunday that it is working with regulators to determine how the problem occurred. FreshKampo said the label on the containers of potentially affected strawberries would have said “Product of Mexico” or “Distributed by Meridien Foods.”
In a statement on its website, Texas grocer H-E-B said it has not received or sold organic strawberries from the supplier in question since April 16. H-E-B said anyone who still has the strawberries should throw them away or return them to the store where they were purchased.
Hepatitis A is commonly contracted through the ingestion of contaminated food or water but can also be spread from person to person, according to information shared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The illness can linger for several weeks and, in rare cases, can cause liver failure and death, the CDC says.
Consumers who ate the potentially affected berries in the last two weeks and have not been vaccinated against hepatitis A should immediately consult with a physician, the FDA said.
The FDA said that the investigation into the infected strawberries was ongoing and that more products may be included as part of the advisory.
In the United States, at least 37 states have recorded more than 44,000 cases of hepatitis A since 2016, leading to at least 420 deaths.