A multistate outbreak of hepatitis A infections in the United States and Canada is likely to have been sparked by contaminated organic strawberries sold in leading grocery stores, the Food and Drug Administration warned, urging customers to throw out any uneaten batches that may have been frozen for later consumption.
“Consumers, restaurants, and retailers should not sell, serve, or eat any fresh organic strawberries branded as FreshKampo or HEB if purchased between March 5, 2022, and April 25, 2022,” the FDA wrote in a statement published Saturday.
The FDA said the potentially affected fruit had been sold nationwide in at least nine popular grocery chains, including Aldi, Safeway, Trader Joe’s and Walmart, adding that the strawberries were “a likely cause of illness in this outbreak.”
“Contact your healthcare provider if you think you may have symptoms of a hepatitis A infection after eating these fresh organic strawberries, or if you believe that you have eaten these strawberries in the last two weeks,” the statement read.
Of the 17 cases reported, at least 15 were listed in California, the FDA said. At least 12 people had been hospitalized with the highly contagious virus that can cause fever, nausea, stomach pain and fatigue.
Those who reported infections in California, Minnesota and Canada said they had purchased either FreshKampo or HEB-branded berries before falling sick.
It was not immediately clear how the strawberries may have become infected.
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 – although that is more common in people with liver disease or those older than 50, the CDC says.
The FDA said that the investigation into the infected strawberries was ongoing and that more products may be included as part of the advisory.
FreshKampo and HEB Grocery Co., based in Texas, could not be immediately reached for comment early Monday.
According to the FDA, shellfish, raw vegetables and fruit are among the food items most frequently cited as potential foodborne sources of hepatitis A in the United States. Thorough hand-washing is encouraged to reduce the risk of illness.
Produce can become contaminated with hepatitis A if it is handled by someone with the infection who has not washed their hands properly, according to Britain’s National Health Service. Washing food items in dirty water can also lead to infection.
Fruit from FreshKampo is sold in the Middle East and Europe, as well, according to the company’s website.
HEB, in a statement on its website announcing the recall, said it has not received or sold organic strawberries from the supplier under investigation since April 16 – but that anyone who has purchased organic strawberries during the FDA’s review period should throw them away or return them to the place of purchase.
“All strawberries sold at H-E-B are safe,” the statement said, noting that “no illnesses from strawberries related to the FDA investigation have been reported at H-E-B or in Texas.”
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. Past outbreaks have been linked to products such as raw scallops.
I stopped eating strawberries years ago once I became educated to the fact that they are loaded with tolaim.
But if you would have bought kosher certified strawberries, that wouldn’t be a problem. You decided to be extra extra extra strict on yourself for no reason. No reason halachikly to do that. Probably a better thing to be strict upon yourself is not to be on the internet, on such yenta websites.
Are you up to date on your vaccinations?
Blame it on organic strawberries and potato chips. As long as you don’t blame the real cause: VAKSINATION
What else can we expect from the CDC, a private company that owns vaccine patents and the globalist enabling Big pharma at the FDA? Crimes against Humanity and Nature!
Even according to those that are concerned about worms in strawberries- frozen strawberries are not an issue
The CDC and FDA are not government organizations and are not to be trusted, as we’ve learned from the vaxes. Hence, anything they say, I do the opposite. They don’t want us to use organic, they want chemical laden.
As someone who worked in Kashrus for over fifteen years, who was trained in both the halachic and practical aspects of bedikas tola’im by some of the world’s experts in the field, and who spent years training mashgichim, I can tell you that while the above statement regarding the statement about infestation levels and permissibility of frozen strawberries is generally accepted as correct, four very important clarification/qualifications are needed.
1) The Pri Chodosh writes that degree of infestation varies within foods based on the place and time. Not only can the same product from different countries (or states, cites, or even the same field) have different levels of infestation, but even those from the exact location can vary from season to season.
2) The level of infestation can effect how well a particular preparation method will be. Washing and freezing very infested strawberries may not bring levels down sufficiently to permit the eating of the produce.
3) There are differing opinions in the poskim – previous and current-day – as to what a mi’ut she’eino matzui is. Since the presumption is the process used in producing frozen strawberries brings levels to below this number, this machlokes is important.
4) Organic produce typically is more infested than non-organic, and therefore what works for one may not work for the other.