Hepatitis A warning issued on frozen berries sold here.

coffee_cake · 28-07-2013 11:40am

If you're in tesco or anywhere and they don't have warnings maybe talk to a manager

Duzzie · 28-07-2013 2:44pm

Went to my local Farm Shop this morning and stocked up on fresh strawberries, raspberries and blackberries. Unfortunately no blueberries today. They are now in my freezer to keep me well stocked for my daily frozen berry smoothies. Yum yum. Got nice sized punnets for 5€ a pop, more than I would have got from the supermarkets.

R P McMurphy · 28-07-2013 2:46pm

_Whimsical_ wrote: »

I rang Boylans frozen fruits and turns out they are imported berries.

Pity:(

Why are supervalu still stocking them in that case? I thought they would have been fine

rubadub · 29-07-2013 3:20pm

Harper Gray Compass wrote: »

This may be a stupid question, but why would frozen berries be affected, but not fresh ones?

That's what I wondered.

It never crossed my mind to wash frozen fruit, or veg for that matter. Perhaps they are washed and some rinse agent was contaminated or something. I always figured they were washed.

Or maybe there will be fresh fruit warning coming soon. Google shows up a lot of warnings in the US (for frozen)

I also wondered if any frozen fruit is later defrosted & sold as fresh, some will not hold up well but could be sold as a fresh fruit salad you might see in supermarkets.

thegreatiam wrote: »

But Im starting to thing that is just what they say to the public to be safe.

+1 Its easier to say NO across the board, if you get into the details people might misinterpret it.

Companies will often have big warnings on food not to refreeze, but this is since the texture changes upon mulitple freeze-thaw cycles. Manufacturers do quick freezing for a reason. These warnings perpetuate the myth.

brownej · 29-07-2013 5:03pm

rubadub wrote: »

That's what I wondered.

It never crossed my mind to wash frozen fruit, or veg for that matter. Perhaps they are washed and some rinse agent was contaminated or something. I always figured they were washed.

Perhaps the fresh stuff is washed after it is imported into Ireland or the UK before being packaged.

The frozen stuff could just be washed in the country of origin where the water may not always be safe to drink.
All speculation.

Stheno · 29-07-2013 10:58pm

For anyone looking for fresh berries Lidl are doing 275g of blueberries for 1.89

EDit · 29-07-2013 11:18pm

Seems this has been a problem in Scandanavia and the US this year as well

http://www.thelocal.se/48854/20130703/

http://t.nbcnews.com/health/toll-reaches-118-hepatitis-outbreak-tied-frozen-berry-mix-6C10361928

_Whimsical_ · 03-08-2013 12:18am

rubadub wrote: »

That's what I wondered.

It never crossed my mind to wash frozen fruit, or veg for that matter. Perhaps they are washed and some rinse agent was contaminated or something. I always figured they were washed.
.

I was listening to something on the radio about this recently.They were saying that in some countries,particularly in very rural areas, farming facilities are less regulated than here and their water supplies and plumbing systems would be a far cry from our own in terms of quality. There have been issues with washed fruit and veg, ready to eat salad for example, where produce has been washed in outdoor farm taps in water containing human effluent and this has caused ecoli and other illness outbreaks in consumers.
It's a bit of a scary thought.

It wasn't mentioned in relation to this outbreak but it's possible something like that could happen if they were washed. The US outbreak of Hepatitis A linked to berries concerned berries that were imported from Turkey. Turkey and Mexico were two of the countries I remember being mentioned in the radio report that had poor water supplies in rural areas.

_Whimsical_ · 09-09-2013 11:45pm

This was back in news today. FSA are urging people to continue to heed the advice to boil all berries as more people have got sick. A spokesman on the news said the difficulty in tracing the outbreak was that our frozen berries come from sources in China, South America, Africa and "other places".

A little frightening to think they come from so far and wide. Definitely you couldn't be sure of best practice washing freezing and packing Id say.

thegreatiam · 10-09-2013 9:44am

_Whimsical_ wrote: »

China, South America, Africa and "other places".

Christ, they list probably the most risky third world and then include a mystery "other place". What hell hole of berry poisoners could possibly be worse than Africa, China and South America that they daren't even mention it?
Are these berries from some sort of space ghetto?

Shtanto · 18-09-2013 9:17pm

I only eat fresh blueberries myself. Am I safe?

Lucyfur · 18-09-2013 9:21pm

Shtanto wrote: »

I only eat fresh blueberries myself. Am I safe?

Yup. It's only the frozen imported berries that are at risk.

I had a stock pile in the freezer, which I boiled and re froze. I ended up throwing out the whole lot cos my smoothies were horrible after the boiling process

Diaz · 24-09-2013 3:03pm

Ah ****, I have ****load in the freezer.

LowOdour · 08-11-2013 8:58am

Could anyone tell me if this is still an ongoing issue? Need to pick up frozen blueberries, but that's no good if I cannot use them"

the world wonders · 09-11-2013 11:31am

LowOdour wrote: »

Could anyone tell me if this is still an ongoing issue? Need to pick up frozen blueberries, but that's no good if I cannot use them"

To date (8 November 2013), 15 primary cases and four secondary cases have been identified.

So looks like it's still ongoing.

coffee_cake · 26-03-2014 10:27pm

The faq hasn't been updated since, do ye reckon they're still unsafe then

juke · 26-03-2014 10:42pm

Warning signs have been taken down in Lidl.

When I noticed that I checked the fsai website - and when it was no longer listed in the alerts - I presumed the warning had been lifted :eek:

dastardly00 · 27-03-2014 12:10am

I have been keeping an eye on the FSAI website but there hasn't been any update, and it hasn't popped up in the news or anything.

Since the start of February I've been eating frozen berries from Dunnes/Tesco (without boiling them) most days in the week.

stevire · 08-09-2014 2:38pm

Bump.

It's back.... :eek:

http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/food-safety-authority-appeals-to-public-to-boil-frozen-berries-amid-hepatitis-outbreak-641423.html

ZeroImpurities · 08-09-2014 2:42pm

Yikes.
I've a packet of frozen blueberries (Four Seasons) which I was going to put in smoothies.
Into the bin with it.
Thanks for the warning.

ZeroImpurities · 08-09-2014 2:42pm

What is Hep A btw?

rubadub · 08-09-2014 2:46pm

ZeroImpurities wrote: »

Into the bin with it.

or into the boiling water with it...

Has anybody seen manufacturers stating theirs is safe? If I was selling them and they were OK I would certainly be stating that.

I was saying before this issue might be ongoing for years, until the stuff in deep storage is all used up.

stevire · 08-09-2014 2:48pm

ZeroImpurities wrote: »

What is Hep A btw?

What is hepatitis A?

It is a disease that can be relatively mild, lasting one to two weeks, or more severe lasting months. Symptoms increase with age. The most common symptoms are fever, loss of appetite, nausea, fatigue and abdominal pain, followed within a few days by jaundice.
The incubation period (time from exposure to onset of illness) ranges from 15 to 50 days, the average being 28 days.

09-09-2014 12:58am

Ah here, I'll risk a month of illness. :pac:

So just popping them in boiling water is enough? What about re-freezing afterwards? I only use 'em for smoothies so doing it every time would be a pain in the hole.

goose06 · 09-09-2014 9:49am

Deleted User wrote: »

Ah here, I'll risk a month of illness. :pac:

So just popping them in boiling water is enough? What about re-freezing afterwards? I only use 'em for smoothies so doing it every time would be a pain in the hole.

You shouldn't refreeze anything that has thawed out after being frozen.

JimsAlterEgo · 09-09-2014 9:59am

goose06 wrote: »

You shouldn't refreeze anything that has thawed out after being frozen.

I was under the impression if you cooked it you can. e.g. Thaw chicken, cook it and refreezing is ok.

Boiling berries would be same, texture wise though I wouldnt advise unless using for smoothies as would be mush.

rubadub · 09-09-2014 10:09am

JimsAlterEgo wrote: »

Boiling berries would be same, texture wise though I wouldnt advise unless using for smoothies as would be mush.

Yes, it will be mush. You will see lots of warnings on packets of food about refreezing, but this is since it alters the texture of the food so it will not taste the way the manufacturer intended. Some people wrongly think there is some sort of bacteria that comes about since some of the warnings sound extreme.

If its defrosted properly and refrozen right away there should be no problem.

In another thread one poster was saying if stuff like a pack of mince is defrosted it could get excessive water inside due to condensation which could possibly make it easier for bacteria to grow. This is more of an issue if you plan on freezing, defrosting, and then storing in a fridge for a few days.

CeannRua · 09-09-2014 9:13pm

Just for anyone who didn't hear it, there was a guy on Morning Ireland this morning who said that the reason for the problem with the berries is that human waste entered the food chain at some point. Lovely...

ch750536 · 10-09-2014 9:02am

Now with B12, yay!

loveisdivine · 10-09-2014 9:03am

I thought it was just imported frozen berries? Or did I hear wrong?

Hepatitis A warning issued on frozen berries sold here.

Comments