topic Re: Recall Frozen Berries in Wellness

Recall Frozen Berries

FlowerBear — Sun, 09 Jun 2019 19:43:46 GMT

Kroger and stores it owns, has a recall for some of its Private Selection frozen berries. Possible contamination with HEPATITIS A!!

Heads up, consumers: Kroger has issued a recall of some

of its frozen berries over a possible Hepatitis A contamination.

In a statement Friday, Kroger announced it was recalling

potentially contaminated items from its “Private Selection” brand.

Those items include its Private Selection

Frozen Triple Berry Medley (16 oz) and Private Selection Frozen Triple Berry Medley (48 oz). The Private Selection Frozen Blackberries (16 oz)

are also subject to the recall. "Customers who have purchased

these products should not consume them and should return

them to a store for a full refund or replacement," the company

said in the statement.

Kroger issued the recall after it was “informed by the FDA

that a sample of the Private Selection frozen berries was

tested by the FDA and found to be contaminated with

Hepatitis A," the company said. However, no illnesses

have been reported at this time.

The frozen berries, which were manufactured by

Townsend Farms, per the company’s statement,

were distributed to Kroger stores nationwide.

Hepatitis A is a “highly contagious” liver infection is caused

by the Hepatitis A virus, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The virus typically spreads when a person eats or drinks

something “contaminated by small, undetected amounts of stool from an infected person,” the health agency said.

Those who contract Hepatitis A — not to be confused with

hepatitis B or C, which are caused by different viruses —

may be sick for “several weeks" and usually fully recover,

according to the CDC. It is rare to die from the illness, though

Hepatitis A can cause liver failure and death, typically in those

who are 50 years of age or older.

Re: Recall Frozen Berries

simplyfriends — Sun, 09 Jun 2019 19:45:23 GMT

@FlowerBear Thank you so much for the heads up! My daughter had some in the freezer for her son’s smoothies. We would not have known.

Re: Recall Frozen Berries

FlowerBear — Sun, 09 Jun 2019 19:48:53 GMT

@simplyfriends yikes, glad to help! good to know about recalls even if some on here dont agree for some strange reason!

Re: Recall Frozen Berries

simplyfriends — Sun, 09 Jun 2019 19:51:57 GMT

@FlowerBear Luckily the bag was unopened. She purchased it at Ralph’s. Thanks again 🥰🤗

Re: Recall Frozen Berries

QueenDanceALot — Sun, 09 Jun 2019 19:52:32 GMT

I used to buy that triple berry one all the time for my smoothies. I'm glad I haven't been using them lately.

Thanks for posting @FlowerBear !

Re: Recall Frozen Berries

SilleeMee — Mon, 10 Jun 2019 12:00:26 GMT

I was vaccinated against Hep A & B when I worked in a hospital. It's been a while so I hope it's still good.

Re: Recall Frozen Berries

SeaMaiden — Mon, 10 Jun 2019 00:01:42 GMT

Wonder how Hep A got in the berries? Did anyone say?

Re: Recall Frozen Berries

ThinkOutsidetheBox — Mon, 10 Jun 2019 03:05:37 GMT

I use Target's Market Pantry Triple Berry Blend, which looks like the xact same product, just sold by Target. I wonder how I find out if Townsend Farms packages these for Target as well without having to wait for the next round of mea culpas/I mean recalls.

Re: Recall Frozen Berries

colliemom4 — Mon, 10 Jun 2019 03:31:00 GMT

I use these every once in a while but haven't in months. I'm so tired of all these food safety issues that continue to appear.

Re: Recall Frozen Berries

SilleeMee — Mon, 10 Jun 2019 12:00:05 GMT

Something I never use to do with frozen fruit is rinse it with water before eating it. In the beginning when I first started eating frozen berries, and other frozen fruit, was just let them thaw then eat them. Then one day a woman in line behind me at the grocery store saw my frozen berry mix in my shopping cart and mentioned that she always rinses hers off before eating them. She went on to say something like: "You can never be too safe".

Whether or not rinsing frozen fruit will prevent getting infected is debatable. But I still do it nonetheless.

Re: Recall Frozen Berries

dex — Mon, 10 Jun 2019 14:47:50 GMT

@SeaMaiden @They never say much about how food becomes contaminated .I think they don’t want people to get upset about the food safety issues.

Re: Recall Frozen Berries

Cakers3 — Mon, 10 Jun 2019 15:20:22 GMT

@SeaMaiden wrote:
Wonder how Hep A got in the berries? Did anyone say?

@SeaMaiden My understanding is that it is fecal-to-oral so people picking berries can cause contamination. Or water used in irrigation that was contaminated by an infected person.

SInce freezing the berries will not kill the virus and are ready to eat-that is a problem

Heating the berries (baking e.g.) will kill the virus.

I'm not a farmer; this is just what I've read so if anybody else has answers please post.

I haven't seen anything about the source of this contamination so far.

Re: Recall Frozen Berries

Mindy D — Wed, 12 Jun 2019 00:30:16 GMT

@dex wrote:
@SeaMaiden @They never say much about how food becomes contaminated .I think they don’t want people to get upset about the food safety issues.

They do say. Contamination depends on the food. Things grown in soil can become contaminated with ecoli bacteria. This group of bacteria is present in the intestines of humans and animals. In the case of the particular strains that are most harmful the contamination is usually from cow dung that gets on the field via run off from nearby water. Most ecoli is killed by cooking at high temperatures. Certain ecoli produce a poison, called shiga toxin that usually can be destroyed by heat. It’s this toxin that causes kidney damage and death from consumption of strains such as O157.

There is also listeria bacteria. The contamination here can be found in soft cheeses, vegetables such as sprouts and many other foods. It causes particular harm to the fetus. Listeria grow inside the REFRIGERATOR and at cool temperatures. Cooking also destroys listeria. Listeria was what was responsible for the recent avocado recall.

Then there’s salmonella. Poultry is particularly susceptible to salmonella contamination. Cooking destroys salmonella but the bacteria can remain on ones hands.