Hawaii is now added to the list of states in the Costco Townsend Farms Organic Antioxidant Blend Frozen Berry mix hepatitis A outbreak. Other states affected include Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, and New Mexico. Thirty-two people are now sick in this outbreak. Because the product was sold at Costco, and that grocery store chain has outlets in all 50 states, it’s likely that more states will be included in this outbreak
The CDC states that the hepatitis A strain associated with Townsend Farms Anti-oxidant Blend Frozen Berry Mix sold at Costco is rare in the United States. The strain is usually found in North Africa and the Middle East.
The berry mix contains strawberries, cherries, blueberries, raspberries, and pomegrnate seeds (also called arils). The fruit was grown in the U.S., Argentina, Chile, and Turkey. The attorney for Townsend Farms has stated that the pomegranate seeds may be the causal agent in this hepatitis A outbreak. They were sourced from Turkey, which is in the Middle East and is considered part of North Africa.
FoodWorld 