Serbia, Sweden, Aotearoa and Hepatitis A. It’s a random group and hard to see what they have in common, but they are all connected by a bad batch of berries.
Recently Pams recalled 478 bags because of a possible Hepatitis A risk.
“Foodstuffs South Island Hornby Distribution Centre, in error, released 478 bags of Pams Mixed Berries following the previous recall on 4 October 2022,” said New Zealand Food Safety (NZFS) deputy director-general Vincent Arbuckle.
But they shouldn’t have been on the shelves in the first place.
It turns out they are part of the same batch recalled in October 2022.
Link to Serbia
The batch came from Serbia where the virus could have been transferred from infected people handling the fruit.
Genomic sequencing has matched the barriers to cases of a virus outbreak in Sweden too.
New Zealand outbreak
Thirty-five people have contracted Hepatitis A since the first October recall with nine people going to hospital.
What is Hepatitis A?
The virus is a highly contagious liver infection.
“Consumers, especially those with chronic liver damage, the elderly and pregnant people, should not eat frozen berries raw,” said Arbuckle.
Symptoms include fever, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.
It feels like the flu and causes jaundice – yellow in the eyes and skin.
And it can last up to two months.
Where were they recalled?
The recalled 500g bags were only available at four South Island Supermarkets, with a best before date of 14 August 2024.
Those stores were: Ashburton New World, Hornby Pak'nSave, Three Parks New World, Wanaka, and Wainoni Pak'nSave, Christchurch.
At the time of the recall six out of the 478 were sold and four were unaccounted for.
"We are urging consumers who bought frozen berries from New World Ashburton, Three Parks New World in Wanaka and Pak‘nSave in Hornby and Christchurch to check their freezers for the recalled product,” said Arbuckle.
An investigation is underway to workout how they ended up back on sale.
If you have consumed any of this product and are concerned for your health, contact your health professional, or call Healthline on 0800 611 116.
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