A recall of frozen organic berries has expanded to include additional products sold at Walmart and Trader Joe’s because they may be contaminated with a potentially dangerous strain of E. coli.
The expanded recall includes 10-ounce packages of Great Value Organic Blueberries and Great Value Organic Triple Berry Blend, along with one lot of Trader Joe’s 12-ounce Organic Mixed Berry Blend. The products were supplied by Frutas y Hortalizas del Sur S.A. of Chile.
The Great Value products were distributed to select Walmart stores in 30 states and Puerto Rico. The Trader Joe’s product was distributed to stores in 26 states and Washington, D.C. Because the frozen products carry dates extending into 2028, federal officials are urging consumers to check berries that may have been stored in their freezers.
The recall is connected through traceback information to an earlier outbreak involving frozen organic blueberries from the same supplier. Federal health officials identified 17 illnesses and six hospitalizations in that outbreak, with no deaths reported. The outbreak investigation has since ended.
E. coli O145 can cause severe stomach cramps, diarrhea that may be bloody and vomiting. In some cases, infection can lead to a serious kidney complication, particularly in young children, older adults and people with weakened immune systems. Consumers who have the recalled berries should not eat them and should throw them away or return them to the store for a refund.
This is a useful consumer-action story, not just another recall notice, because those 2028 dates mean people could easily have the products sitting in a freezer for months. The FDA also provides official product photographs, which means we should be able to use the actual recalled packages for the feature image rather than create anything. U.S. Food and Drug Administration
