Harris Teeter is recalling frozen mixed berries that may be contaminated with hepatitis A. The Matthews, NC-based grocery chain said Tuesday that it is removing Harris Teeter Organics Antioxidant Berry Blend from its stores out of an abundance of caution because its berry supplier is Townsend Farms Inc. which has been associated with an outbreak of hepatitis A that has sickened 37 people in six states. That product contained mixed berrie and pomegranate seeds.
The product under recall, Harris Teeter Organics Antioxidant Berry Blend, has the UPC number 7203670463 and code dates T041613C and T041613E. It was sold in freezer cases at Harris Teeter stores in n North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, Maryland and Delaware.
Harris Teeter has removed the product from its stores. Consumers who purchased the product should not eat it and may return it for a full refund.
Hepatitis A is a virus that causes inflammation of the liver. Symptoms can take two to seven weeks after exposure to develop. They include: fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, vomiting, stomach pain, and yellowing of the skin or eyes. Some people who are infected have no symptoms at all. Others have mild illness lasting a couple of weeks. And some may have severe illness lasting several months.
In the Townsend Farms outbreak, there are 37 confirmed cases in Arizona, California, Colorado,Hawaii, Nevada and New Mexico. Eleven people have been hospitalized and 19 reported eating Townsend Farms Organic Antioxidant Blend before becoming ill.
