The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment is notifying customers that two restaurants in that state made smoothies that may have been prepared with the recalled Townsend Farms Organic Antioxidant Blend frozen berry mix associated with a multistate hepatitis A outbreak. The restaurants are Groovy Greens in Niwot and Sweet Pea Restaurant in Steamboat Springs.
Lisa Miller, state epidemiologist, said in a statement, “The recalled Organic Antioxidant Blend frozen berry mix product has been identified as a course of an outbreak of hepatitis A infections in the western United States.” Twenty-two cases have been identified in Colorado. To date, no cases have been associated with the consumption of smoothies from these two restaurants, but consumers may have been exposed to the virus.
The Sweet Pea Restaurant, at 729 Yampa Street in Steamboat Springs served “Berry Blast” smoothies between May 24 and June 8, 2013. Customers who consumed that product should watch for symptoms of Hepatitis A and seek health care if they become ill. If you ate that product within the last 14 days, you can get a vaccination at a walk-in clinic at the Steamboat Springs Northwest Colorado Visiting Nurse Association (970-879-1632), Suite 101, 940 Central Park on Thursday, June 20 from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm or on Friday June 21, 2013 from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm.
The Groovy Greens smoothie delivery service, which serves Boulder and Longmont, may have made smoothies with the blend between April 15 and May 31, 2013. Customers who ordered products from that facility may have been exposed to Hepatitis A. It’s too late for a vaccination now if you consumed a smoothie then, so monitor yourself for symptoms of Hepatitis A, which include fatigue, stomach pain, jaundice, dark urine, and clay-colored stool. Symptoms usually start about 28 days after exposure. If you consumed a Groovy Greens smoothie in the past 14 days, you can contact Boulder County Public Health at 303-413-7500 for a vaccination or see your doctor. Please call that number if you still have smoothies prepared before May 31.
