Townsend Farms Organic Antioxidant blend frozen berries have caused a hepatitis A outbreak that, to date, has sickened 61 people in 7 states. Eleven people have been hospitalized. On June 3, 2013, Townsend Farms recalled all product sold at Costco warehouse stores under the name Townsend Farms Organic Antioxidant Blend, 3 lb. bag and UPC 0 78414 404448. The recalled codes are located on the back of the package with the words “BEST BY” followed by the code T012415 sequentially through T053115, followed by a letter.
Costco sold over 300,000 of the recalled packages. Many of those sales occurred in California. So what do California residents do who ate the recalled frozen berries? The CDC gives the following advice:
1. Hepatitis A vaccination can prevent illness if given within two weeks of exposure to the contaminated product.
- If you consumed this product in the last two weeks and have never been vaccinated, contact your health care provider to find out if you should be vaccinated. If you don’t have a health care provider (usually your doctor) contact your health department. You can find your health department contact information at this website.
- If you have already received the hepatitis A vaccination in the past, you are unlikely to become ill with the disease
2. Contact your health care provider right away if you develop any of these symptoms:
- Yellow eyes or skin
- Abdominal pain
- Pale stools
- Dark urine
Marler Clark has filed multiple lawsuits for victims of the Townsend Farms hepatitis A outbreak, including individual personal injury lawsuits for people sickened by hepatitis A, and a class action on behalf of people who consumed the product and have been vaccinated or received an IG injection.