RECALL: Organic strawberries sold at ALDI, Trader Joe’s linked to hepatitis A

ajc.com

Frozen organic strawberries sold at ALDI and Trader Joe’s stores in Ohio are under a voluntary recall as part of a hepatis A outbreak.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are investigating the outbreak of infections linked to frozen organic strawberries imported by a common supplier from certain farms in Baja California, Mexico.

The frozen organic strawberries were sold to a variety of retailers under multiple brand labels.

In Ohio, they were sold as:

  • 24-ounce packages of organic strawberries under the Simply Nature brand with UPC code 4099100256222 with a best by date of 6/14/2024
  • 16-ounce pages of organic tropical fruit blend under the Trader Joe’s label with the UPC code 00511919 and best by dates of 04/25/24, 05/12/24, 05/23/24, 05/30/24 and 06/07/24

No cases have been reported in Ohio.

So far, there are five illnesses including two probable cases involving two hospitalizations, all in the state of Washington. There have been no deaths reported.

Based on epidemiological data collected by CDC, all people who provided information about what they ate before becoming ill reported eating frozen organic strawberries.

FDA’s traceback investigation identified a common supplier of the frozen organic strawberries.

Additionally, the strain of hepatitis A virus causing illnesses is genetically identical to the strain that caused the outbreak of hepatitis A virus infections in 2022, which was linked to fresh organic strawberries imported from Baja California, Mexico, and sold at various retailers.

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