Public health officials are investigating a hepatitis A outbreak linked to strawberries with 17 reported cases nationwide, including 15 in California, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Fresh organic strawberries under the FreshKampo or HEB brand labels are the likely cause of the outbreak, according to investigations showing that patients in California, Minnesota and Canada reported buying FreshKampo or HEB strawberries before becoming ill. Canadian authorities reported 10 cases in the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. Recorded illnesses range from March 28 through April 30, and the affected strawberries would have been sold between March 5 and April 25, the FDA said. Though the strawberries are past their shelf life, anyone who froze FreshKampo or HEB strawberries should not eat them; if anyone isn’t sure of the label of their strawberries, they should also throw them away, the FDA said. According to the FDA, the strawberries were sold at retailers, including, but not limited to, Aldi, HEB, Kroger, Safeway, Sprouts Farmers Market, Trader Joe’s, Walmart, Weis Markets and WinCo Foods.

Source: Los Angeles Times June 01, 2022 15:10 UTC