Food safety regulators in Canada and the United States are currently investigating a Hepatitis A outbreak, following a series of reports of individuals infected by the illness.
The agencies are linking the outbreak to tainted organic strawberries that has sickened 10 people in Canada and 17 in the United States.
In an official statement released by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said fifteen illnesses have been reported in California and one each in North Dakota and Minnesota and twelve of the sick people were hospitalized.
The FDA also added that the organic strawberries that were distributed nationwide, were sold under the brand name FreshKampo or HEB between March 5 and April 25.
The regulators also revealed that strawberries were also sold at Kroger, Safeway, Sprouts Farmers, Trader Joe’s, Weis Markets and WinCo Foods.
“People who purchased the fresh strawberries and then froze those strawberries for later consumption should not eat them. They should be thrown away,” The FDA warned.
The agency also wrote in a warning notice that “if you are unsure of what brand you purchased, when you purchased your strawberries or where you purchased them from prior to freezing them, the strawberries should be thrown away,” the FDA said in a warning notice.
Meanwhile, the Public Health Agency in Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency also reported that they are currently investigating the cases involving the same illness in the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta.
According to the agencies, imported organic strawberries were no longer available for purchase in Canada and were bought between March 5 and 9.
“Based on investigation findings to date, consumption of imported fresh organic strawberries is the likely source of the outbreak,” the agencies said in an official statement.
Furthermore, no deaths have been reported but the authorities advised the public to seek medical attention and ask about a hepatitis vaccine if they have consumed the potentially harmful strawberries.
“The strawberries under investigation are a likely cause of illness in this outbreak,” the FDA said. The agency also noted that its “investigation is ongoing and that other products could eventually be linked to hepatitis cases.”
