Hepatitis A Outbreak--from frozen Berries/pomegranite seeds

This strain of Hep A not seen before in US

www.usatoday.com...

Health officials have linked an outbreak of acute hepatitis A that has sickened at least 30 people in five states to a frozen berry and pomegranate mix.

Cases have been reported in Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona, and California. In a release Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the first victims fell ill on April 29 and the most recent case was May 17. It is believed more will come.

The outbreak appears to be linked to a frozen berry blend sold by Costco called The Townsend Farms Organic Anti-oxidant Blend Frozen Berry Mix, a frozen berry and pomegranate seed mix

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Maybe my ignorance, but I thought that disease was passed via blood contamination. Isn't that why those who share needles are at risk?
How would something like that end up in juice?

Originally posted by VoidHawk
Maybe my ignorance, but I thought that disease was passed via blood contamination. Isn't that why those who share needles are at risk?
How would something like that end up in juice?

You're thinking of Hep B and C.

Hep A is spread by fecal-oral route.

reply to post by MuzzleBreak

Lets hear what George has to say about it...

reply to post by MuzzleBreak


I watched a segment on the news that indicated that it could take a Month before everyone would show signs.

It is hard to wash Fecal Bacteria off of anything with just water. It makes me want to damn near wash everything in Antibacterial Soap before I eat it.

The real questions are; Where did the juice come from and who put the feces in the juice? There are some really sick and demented people in this world and do these things just for fun or to cause trouble or both.

Is this a US brand or from somewhere else?

Originally posted by pstrron
The real questions are; Where did the juice come from and who put the feces in the juice? There are some really sick and demented people in this world and do these things just for fun or to cause trouble or both.

Is this a US brand or from somewhere else?

The mix was prepared by a US company. The ingredients, however, came from Turkey, Argentina, and Chile--and the US. Unsafe fertilization and watering techniques can deposit fecal bacteria and viruses onto plants---berries in particular. However, this particular virus is most prevalent in North Africa. Turkey is closest to there and most likely to have North African immigrants working in the fields/agriculture. That's where the pomegranite seeds were likely produced, IMO.

Having worked in a fresh produce department for many years, I would never trust frozen organic fruit. You can't wash them before consumption. And since (it seems) that it was pomegranate seeds, that goes double. You would not be expected to wash them ever as they are enclosed in the skin. It would be like washing slices of bananas. It seems many people equate organic produce with clean, but it really only means no pesticides or herbicides were used. Organic produce is usually much dirtier and has many more bugs.

To the person who wants to wash everything in anti-bacterial soap, you don't need any special soap, but some sort of detergent works wonderfully. The main reason for a detergent is the surfactant; it breaks the surface tension of the water on things so the water can really wash off anything. If you look at grapes, berries, cabbage, and broccoli, the grayish, powdery looking stuff is a combination of wax from the plant itself to protect it from moisture and anything in the area that will stick to it--mold, fungus, yeast, pesticides, dirt of all sorts, including manure. And in fields with irrigation ditches and no toilet facilities, raw sewage. Yummy, huh? The water beading up on something shows this sticky stuff is still there. Just a drop or two of Dawn works for me. I don't use antibacterial soaps (a whole other topic, but it's like over use of antibiotics and triclosan-resistance is a growing concern). Put your produce in a large bowl (I use my salad spinner), add a drop or two of dish soap (really a detergent), and agitate, rubbing the produce lightly between your hands. Drain and rinse well. It's amazing after you do this the difference in how the now really clean produce looks. Especially broccoli. And how really dirty the water you washed them in looks. Dish soap is safe and rinses off completely.

I've seen older (circa 1950's) produce guides which recommend you use bleach to wash produce. Since bleach is toxic, no thank you! But even that is safe, if rinsed really, really well.

I don't care for pomegranate. I'd rather eat a locally grown pear any day. Why do we listen to those people who are trying to condition us to eat these foods we are not accustomed to. It's all a sale scam using cherry picked evidence to show that these things are healthy. If your ancestors ate pomegranates then maybe you are able to without metabolic issues but if they ate too much, then you may have allergies to it.

Originally posted by pstrron
The real questions are; Where did the juice come from and who put the feces in the juice? There are some really sick and demented people in this world and do these things just for fun or to cause trouble or both.

Is this a US brand or from somewhere else?

The local news reports the Hep A, Costco berries thing about every half hour in Arizona. The berries are from Turkey apparently. Most likely someone used manure to fertlize the berries and then they didn't get washed properly. The Hep A would have been in the manure. Still not sure how they survived the freezing process. Unless it wasn't a pure freeze. Freezing a virus ought to kill a virus.

I guess I shouldn't worry too much about it even though there's a lot of cases in Arizona. I have a knack of avoiding a product 4 months, 6 months, to years before a recall. I haven't bought frozen berries in over a year. And I've never purchased the brand in question.