Several frozen fruit labels have been recalled by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration over an outbreak of Hepatitis A contamination.
The brands affected by the recall include Great Value, Rader Farms, Wawona, and Kirkland Signature. The affected products were sold at Wal-Mart and Aldi among other retailers across 32 states including Illinois.
The products specifically affecting Illinois include Great Value Mixed Fruit 4-lb bags, Great Value Sliced Strawberries 4-lb bags, and Great Value Antioxidant Fruit Blend 2-lb bags sold at Walmart.
According to the FDA’s investigation, traceback data gathered during the ongoing investigation of hepatitis A infections are linked to frozen organic strawberries imported from Baja California, Mexico.
So far, a total of 9 cases of illness have been reported, with 3 people hospitalized; with all of the reports coming from West Coast states.
The FDA says restaurants and individuals should immediately check their freezers and should immediately throw them away. The items have up to an 18-month shelf life and should not be consumed. If you believe you may have eaten the recalled product within the last two weeks, the FDA recommends you immediately contact your healthcare provider as soon as possible.
The FDA says this is not an exhaustive list of products or stores and they say they are continuing work to identify firms who may have received additional product or have additional contaminated product information.