There is currently an outbreak of Hepatitis A associated with the consumption of frozen berries.

New Zealand Food Safety is advising consumers if eating frozen berries to minimise the risk of Hepatitis A. As investigations are still ongoing, it is still recommended that consumers follow the precautions outlined on the MPI website regardless of the brand of frozen berries.

Foodstuffs Own Brands Ltd has initiated a consumer-level recall for specific varieties of Pams brand frozen berries sourced from Serbia. Details of the recalled products are available on the MPI website.

Latest update

27 October 2022

Since 28 June 2022, 21 locally-acquired cases of hepatitis A associated with frozen berry consumption have been identified, including three in the past week. All New Zealand cases have reported significant consumption of uncooked imported frozen berries. Nine (43%) cases were hospitalised.

Of all New Zealand cases, 17 have an identical sequence profile, which indicates they likely came from the same source.