Common Grocery Store Item Recalled After Being Linked to Hepatitis Outbreak

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There have been 17 cases of hepatitis A across three states with 12 people hospitalized.

The FDA and CDC have “potentially linked” the outbreak of hepatitis A to fresh organic strawberries sold at multiple retailers. These strawberries are branded as FreshKampo and HEB and they would have been purchased between March 5, 2022, and April 25, 2022, according to the FDA and CDC.

These strawberries were sold at numerous stores, including Aldi, HEB, Kroger, Safeway, Sprouts Farmers Market, Trader Joe’s, Walmart, Weis Markets and WinCo Foods. The strawberries were packaged by a California-based company named FreshKampo.

Among the 17 people who became sick, 15 are located in California while one person is in Minnesota and another in North Dakota. No deaths have been linked to the outbreak.

A statement from the FDA explained: “The FDA, along with CDC, the Public Health Agency of Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, state and local partners are investigating a multi-state outbreak of hepatitis A infections in the United States and Canada potentially linked to fresh organic strawberries branded as FreshKampo and HEB, purchased between March 5, 2022, and April 25, 2022.”

If anyone bought the strawberries and froze them, the FDA says not to eat them.

More on this story via Western Journal:

The strawberries were packaged by FreshKampo, a California-based company that produces and distributes the fruit, and the Texas-based store H-E-B, according to the Daily Mail.

“Epidemiologic and traceback data show that fresh organic strawberries sold as FreshKampo and HEB brands that were purchased between March 5, 2022, and April 25, 2022, are a likely cause of illness in this outbreak,” the FDA reported.

“The traceback investigations show that cases in California, Minnesota and Canada report having purchased fresh organic strawberries branded as FreshKampo or HEB prior to becoming ill. Illness onset dates range from March 28 – April 30, 2022,” the FDA said.

The FDA said that consumers who have strawberries in the freezer and don’t know where they bought them should dispose of them to be safe.

The FDA issued a warning that anyone who bought FreshKampo or H-E-B fresh organic strawberries between March 5, 2022, and April 25, 2022, ate them within the last two weeks and is not vaccinated against hepatitis A should see a doctor.

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HEB said in a statement that the company belies its products are safe and that it “has not received or sold organic strawberries from the supplier under investigation since April 16.”

According to the CDC, hepatitis A symptoms generally appear two to seven weeks after being infected.