Health Advisory: Recall of Frozen Organic Strawberries and Organic Tropical Fruit Blend Because of Hepatitis A Risk to Consumers

This is a health advisory from the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) Office of Communicable Disease Epidemiology.

Current Situation in Washington

On March 16, 2023, Scenic Fruit Company recalled frozen Organic Strawberries and Frozen Organic Tropical Fruit Blend (containing strawberries) because an investigation linked the recalled frozen organic strawberries to at least five hepatitis A infections in Washington residents. The recalled products were sold in Washington at Costco, PCC Community Markets and Trader Joe’s stores and online at Vital Choice Seafood & Organics. Consumers are advised to discard these products or return them to stores where they were purchased.

Full details on the recalled products can be found on the FDA Recalls, Market Withdrawals, & Safety Alerts webpage.

The incubation period for hepatitis A infection after exposure ranges from 14 to 50 days (the average is 28 days). Persons who consumed this product in the prior 14 days may benefit from postexposure prophylaxis. If someone ate the recalled strawberries more than 50 days ago and did not develop hepatitis A infection they are no longer at risk from that exposure. 

Washington state health care providers are requested to:

• Consider administering postexposure prophylaxis to susceptible (unvaccinated) persons who have consumed any of the recalled products in the previous 14 days. Prophylaxis should also be given to susceptible close contacts of confirmed hepatitis A cases. For detailed information on hepatitis A postexposure prophylaxis recommendations see:
  • Prevention of Hepatitis A Virus Infection in the United States: Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, 2020: Postexposure prophylaxis (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
    • TABLE 4. Recommendations for postexposure prophylaxis and preexposure protection, by age group and risk category — Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, 2020 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
    • TABLE 2. Dosage recommendations for GamaSTAN human immune globulin for preexposure and postexposure prophylaxis against hepatitis A infection (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Be alert for possible cases of hepatitis A, especially in patients with a history of consuming any of the recalled products in the previous 50 days. Clinical jaundice may be a late sign or may never develop, particularly in children.
• Order hepatitis A virus (HAV) IgM antibody serology rather than HAV total antibody serology for patients with acute disease. Total HAV antibody identifies immunity due to previous infection or immunization, not for acute infection.
• Do not order HAV serology for people without symptoms or without elevated liver function tests, even if they ate the recalled products. False positive HAV IgM test results are common when asymptomatic people are tested.
• Advise patients with suspected or confirmed HAV infection not to work or attend sensitive settings such as food service, health care, or childcare. Persons with hepatitis A or diarrhea should not be allowed to work in or attend these settings for at least one week after jaundice onset or two weeks after symptom onset (if no jaundice), whichever is later. There is a risk of spreading the infection to others via the fecal-oral route.
• Promptly report all suspect and confirmed cases to the local health jurisdiction where the patient resides.

Additional Information

Updated January 24, 2024

Please see the following DOH webpages for more information:

• 2023 Hepatitis A Outbreak Associated with Frozen Organic Strawberries
• Frozen Organic Strawberries and a Tropical Fruit Blend Recalled Because of Hepatitis A Risk | Spanish

To read this and other WA HAN messages, please visit the Washington Health Alert Network webpage.