Yes, there is another recall on frozen organic strawberries for hepatitis A risk

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced numerous recalls in the past year for food items that may be contaminated with hepatitis A, including certain frozen organic strawberry products.

The first recall was announced in late spring 2022. Then, another recall was announced in the spring of 2023. The FDA announced another two recalls in June, which led to “strawberry recall Walmart” becoming a popular search, just as searches related to strawberry recalls were popular at the time of the previous strawberry recalls.

THE QUESTION

Have some frozen organic strawberry products been recalled for hepatitis A concerns in June 2023?

THE SOURCES

• Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
• Wawona Frozen Foods
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

THE ANSWER

Yes, there have been two recalls on frozen organic strawberry products for hepatitis A concerns in June 2023.

WHAT WE FOUND

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced two recalls, one which began on June 8 and another which began on June 12, for certain frozen organic strawberry products sold by Walmart, Costco and HEB due to potential hepatitis A contamination.

The FDA says during its ongoing investigation into a hepatitis A outbreak directly linked to frozen organic strawberries, it identified these companies as ones that may have also received contaminated products. The June recalls are an expansion of the one announced in March of this year. There have been nine illnesses since the start of the outbreak, all of which have been in Pacific coast states. The FDA says all nine people reported eating frozen organic strawberries before becoming ill.

According to the FDA, the hepatitis A outbreak has been traced back to frozen organic strawberries imported by a common supplier from certain farms located in Baja California, Mexico. The products were sold to a variety of retailers and brand labels.

Hepatitis A is a vaccine-preventable liver infection caused by the highly contagious hepatitis A virus (HAV). The virus is spread when someone unknowingly ingests it through contact with an infected person or by eating contaminated food or drink, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

On June 8, Wawona Frozen Foods announced a recall  for year-old packages of its Organic DayBreak Blend, which were distributed to Costco stores in Arizona, California, Colorado, Utah and Washington. Although the strawberries are no longer available for purchase, their “use by” dates are for later this year, meaning they could still be in some people’s freezers.

The recalled Organic DayBreak Blend products can be identified by the following “use by” dates and lot codes, which can be found immediately next to the “use by” date at the back of a package:

• BEST IF USED BY 09/23/2023: Lot codes 20082D04, 20082D05, 20082D06, 20082D07, 20082D08

• BEST IF USED BY 09/29/2023: Lot codes 20088D04, 20088D05, 20088D06, 20088D07, 20088D08, 20088D09, 20088D10, 20088D11, 20088D12

• BEST IF USED BY 09/30/2023: Lot codes 20089D09, 20089D10, 20089D11, 20089D12

• BEST IF USED BY 10/18/2023: Lot codes 20108D04, 20108D05, 20108D06, 20108D07, 20108D08

Less than a week later, the FDA reported that Willamette Valley Fruit Co. was also recalling certain frozen organic strawberry products. These products include those sold under Walmart’s store brand, Great Value, as well as those sold under the Rader Farms brand at Costco and HEB.

The recalled Walmart products include Great Value Sliced Strawberries, Great Value Mixed Fruit and Great Value Antioxidant Blend distributed to stores in Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin, West Virginia and Wyoming between Jan. 24, 2023, and June 8, 2023.

The recalled Great Value Sliced Strawberries are packaged in 64oz (4lb) 1.81kg plastic bags with the following codes, which can be found under the “best by” dates: 

• BEST BY 7/19/2024, LOT 4018305

• BEST BY 7/20/2024, LOT 4019305

The recalled Great Value Mixed Fruit are packaged in 64oz (4lb) 1.81kg plastic bags with the following codes, which can be found under the “best by” dates:

• BEST BY 7/25/2024, LOT 4024205

• BEST BY 7/26/2024, LOT 4025305

• BEST BY 8/2/2024, LOT 4032305

• BEST BY 8/3/2024, LOT 4033305

• BEST BY 8/4/2024, LOT 4034305

• BEST BY 8/5/2024, LOT 4035305

The recalled Great Value Antioxidant Fruit Blend are packaged in 40oz (2lb 8oz) 1.13kg plastic bags with the following codes, which can be found under the “best by” dates:

• BEST BY 8/2/2024, LOT 4032305

Costco stores in Colorado, Texas, California and Arizona sold now-recalled Rader Farms Organic Fresh Start Smoothie Blend bags between Oct. 3, 2022, and June 8, 2023. The recalled products were sold in 48oz (1.36kg) plastic bags containing six 8oz plastic pouches with the following codes, which can be found under the “best by” dates:

• BEST BY 2/11/2024, LOT 4224202

• BEST BY 5/10/2024, LOT 4313202

• BEST BY 5/11/2024, LOT 4314202

• BEST BY 6/29/2024, LOT 4363202

• BEST BY 6/30/2024, LOT  4364202

• BEST BY 7/18/2024, LOT 4017302

• BEST BY 7/19/2024, LOT 4018302

• BEST BY 8/12/2024, LOT 4042306

• BEST BY 8/13/2024, LOT 4043306

• BEST BY 8/30/2024, LOT 4060306

HEB stores in Texas sold now-recalled Rader Farms Organic Berry Trio bags between July 18, 2022, and June 8, 2023. They come in 3lb (1.36kg) plastic bags with the following codes, which can be found under the “best by” dates:

• BEST BY 12/02/2023, LOT 4153205

• BEST BY 4/10/2024, LOT 4283202

• BEST BY 4/11/2024, LOT 4284202

• BEST BY 8/28/2024, LOT 4058302

• BEST BY 8/29/2024, LOT 4059302

No illnesses have been associated with any of the products recalled in June, the recall announcements said.

The 2022 hepatitis A outbreak was similarly linked to frozen organic strawberries imported by a supplier from certain farms in Baja California.

“Strawberries used by this supplier were imported from certain farms located in Baja California, Mexico, in 2022,” the FDA said. “Additionally, the strain of hepatitis A virus causing illnesses this year 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.”