Wellness

[KingstonsMom]

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned consumers that strawberries sold at major US grocery stores, including Trader Joe's and Walmart, may be linked to an outbreak of Hepatitis A. 

The federal agency released a statement on Saturday, saying that along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it will investigate a 'multistate outbreak' of infections in the US. It will also partner with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency for cases reported there. 

Infections in North America are being linked to organic strawberries packaged by FeshKampo - a berries producer and distributor in California — and Texas-based grocery store H-E-B, purchased between March 5 and April 25. 

Consumers who bought the berries with labels from the two brands are urged to get rid of their batches immediately, especially if they were frozen to be consumed later, the FDA said.

The strawberries were also shipped and placed for sale at other popular grocery stores across the country, including Aldi, Kroger, Safeway, Wei Markets, Sprouts Farmers Market, Weis Markets and WinCo Foods, the FDA added. As of Sunday, 17 people have fallen ill in relation to the outbreak, with 12 of them being hospitalized. 

The outbreak is considered not to be linked to the ongoing spread of hepatitis that has infected 216 people across 37 states, according to the WHO. The mysterious outbreak's cause remains unknown. No new deaths or liver transplants were reported over the last seven days, the CDC revealed in their weekly update.

FDA warns strawberries may be linked to outbreak of Hepatitis A | Daily Mail Online

[Tinkrbl44]

Oh good grief .......  well, I cut and prepared some last night .... and I'm going to eat them anyway.

Of all the crazy things people actually die from .... "death by strawberries" wouldn't come to mind.  

[tsavorite]

March 5th to April 25th Organic sold dates...well I am safe then!  I just purchased my 1st pint of them 5days ago at Kroger (not organic) and finished the last of them this morning before reading this!

You just never think a strawberry could make you so sick.

[millieshops]

@Tinkrbl44    Death by strawberries -  or clery or letucce, etc.  I'd say none of us think that way.  Death by hepatities -  or a years long fight to deal with its effects -  oh, yes.

PS -  I would also eat berries I had just cleaned -  but only if the companies affected were two I had never heard of.  Lots of berries have not been circled out.

[BlueFinch]

It's such a shame that many of us are trying to eat healthy, with more fruits and veggies, only to worry that we may actually be endangering our health. 

I had strawberries from HEB, but not organic, although organic is usually my choice. I also had the peanut butter on the recall list. I'd eaten some of it before learning about the issues. Sadly, we don't know there's a problem, until many cases have surfaced and investigation begins. That equals risk for all of us. 

My favorite meal is a large salad with different veggies and additions. Now I feel a moment of nervousness when I sit down with a beautiful salad. Kinda messes up the moment. 

[SilleeMee]

I got vaccinated against Hep A/B when I was working. It was required. Hope that's still good.

[Trailrun23]

We ate Driscolls strawberries last night from Kroger. Have been eating them all week. Is there anything we can buy now without an issue? 

[Trailrun23]

I always wash all produce, even if it says " pre washed and ready to eat" like the bags salads say....and of course all berries and other produce, even those I peel, like cucumbers.

[Tinkrbl44]

So ....  let me ask anyone who has read the reports ....  is it mostly the organic that can be dangerous?   

Maybe "pesticides used"  are better than "organic" in some instances?

[Cakers3]

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@Tinkrbl44 wrote:

So ....  let me ask anyone who has read the reports ....  is it mostly the organic that can be dangerous?   

Maybe "pesticides used"  are better than "organic" in some instances?

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@Tinkrbl44   The issue is the certification of "organic" fruits overseas.  While some countries do receive the USDA-Organic certification, that happens only once a year.  The certification is issued because the standards are met but there is no follow-up for at least one year.

In the meantime, standards slip.

It doesn't mean that all fruits with Hep A or Samonella or any other type of bacteria/virus come from foreign countries.

Organic/non-Organic is not the issue.

We have seen contaminated fresh blackberries, frozen strawberries, fresh papayas, etc. being recalled and not all were organic.

The Cornucopia Institute is a watchdog organization for organic products-interesting reads on the website.