--- title: E. coli Sickens 17 from Publix GreenWise and Walmart Great Value Frozen Berries date: 2026-07-04T09:43:00-07:00 author: Bill Marler canonical_url: "https://marlerclark.com/e-coli-sickens-12-from-publix-blueberries" section: Litigation Landing Pages --- [Foodborne Illnesses](/foodborne-illnesses) / [E. coli](https://marlerclark.com/foodborne-illnesses/e-coli) / # E. coli Sickens 17 from Publix GreenWise and Walmart Great Value Frozen Berries **Marler Clark represents one of the Florida families in this outbreak — a young boy and his grandmother who both fell ill after eating the berries.** *Page updated September 4, 2026. Case counts are as of the September 3, 2026 CDC and FDA updates.* - • **Confirmed cases:** 17 - • **Hospitalizations:** 6 (35 percent of those with information available) - • **Deaths:** 0 - • **States with illnesses:** Florida and Georgia - • **Illness onsets:** May 11, 2026 through August 2, 2026 - • **Pathogen:** E. *coli* O145:H28, a Shiga toxin-producing E. *coli* (STEC) - • **Source:** Frozen organic blueberries from Frutas y Hortalizas del Sur S.A., San Carlos, Chile - • **Recalled product distribution:** 19 states - • **Status:** Ongoing **What has changed since this page first went up** This outbreak began as a story about one lot of blueberries in one grocery chain. It is now larger, longer, and no longer confined to Publix. When the first recall issued on July 3, 2026, there were 12 confirmed illnesses with onsets between May 11 and June 5, and four hospitalizations. As of the September 3 updates from [CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/outbreaks/blueberries-07-26/investigation.html) and [FDA](https://www.fda.gov/food/outbreaks-foodborne-illness/outbreak-investigation-e-coli-o145h28-frozen-blueberries-july-2026), there are 17 confirmed illnesses, six hospitalizations, and onsets running through early August. Five more people have been confirmed sick and two more have been hospitalized since the first count. Roughly one in three people confirmed in this outbreak has ended up in a hospital. On September 2, 2026, Frutas y Hortalizas del Sur [expanded the recall again](https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/frutas-y-hortalizas-del-sur-sa-expands-recall-include-one-lot-great-value-frozen-organic-triple) — this time to Great Value Organic Triple Berry Blend sold at Walmart, in 16 states. The same Chilean supplier is behind both store brands. A shopper who never set foot in a Publix may still have the implicated fruit in the freezer. **The recalled products** - • **July 3, 2026 —** Frutas y Hortalizas del Sur S.A. [recalled](https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/frutas-y-hortalizas-del-sur-sa-initiates-recall-frozen-greenwise-organic-iqf-blueberries-due) frozen GreenWise Organic IQF Blueberries, 10 oz, lot code 60401 (printed on the package as 6 040 01), Best By February 9, 2028. - • **July 29, 2026 —** Publix [recalled](https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/publix-recalls-all-lots-greenwise-organic-frozen-blueberries-and-whole-mixed-berries-due-potential-e) all lots of GreenWise Organic Whole Blueberries (10 oz, UPC 41415-06453; 48 oz, UPC 41415-12053) and GreenWise Organic Whole Mixed Berries (10 oz, UPC 41415-06753; 48 oz, UPC 41415-12153). - • **September 2, 2026 —** Frutas y Hortalizas del Sur S.A. [expanded the recall](https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/frutas-y-hortalizas-del-sur-sa-expands-recall-include-one-lot-great-value-frozen-organic-triple) to Great Value Organic Triple Berry Blend, 10 oz, lot code 6040 01-6, Best By February 9, 2028, sold at Walmart. Publix had already pulled the GreenWise berries on its own, in an internal stop sale at the end of June, before any recall issued. **Where the recalled product went** FDA has confirmed distribution of the recalled products to 19 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin. The GreenWise products went to Publix stores in eight of those states; the Great Value product went to Walmart stores in 16. Confirmed illnesses so far are in Florida and Georgia only. That is a list of where sick people live, not a list of where the product went, and it almost certainly undercounts. Frozen fruit sits in home freezers for months, many people who get sick are never tested, and it takes three to four weeks for a confirmed case to be tied to an outbreak. **Why this strain is dangerous** *E. coli* O145:H28 is one of the "big six" non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing strains, and it is every bit as serious as the O157:H7 most people have heard of. Symptoms usually begin a few days to nine days after exposure and include severe stomach cramps, diarrhea that is often bloody, nausea and vomiting. Some infections progress to [hemolytic uremic syndrome](http://www.about-hus.com/) (HUS), a form of kidney failure that can require dialysis and can cause lasting kidney damage, high blood pressure and neurologic injury. Young children and older adults are hit hardest — which is exactly what this outbreak looks like. The confirmed cases run from age 2 to age 88. Freezing does not kill this organism. It preserves it as faithfully as it preserves the fruit. **What FDA has found at the Chilean supplier** FDA conducted a remote regulatory assessment of Frutas y Hortalizas del Sur S.A. and collected the firm’s records to examine its procedures and hazard controls. Based on what it found, FDA had concerns about at least one additional lot of blueberries used in other frozen GreenWise products, and concerns about other products from the firm that had not yet entered the U.S. market. FDA has placed the company on [Import Alert 99-35](https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/cms_ia/importalert_1128.html), which allows its frozen blueberries to be detained at the border without physical examination. The source of the contamination has still not been publicly identified, and no product has been reported as testing positive for the outbreak strain. The investigation is ongoing. **If you or a family member got sick, preserve the evidence** Keep the package, or a photograph of the package and the lot code, and keep the receipt. If you can identify where and when you bought it, write it down. Just as important: if you or your child had a stool sample tested, call the laboratory or your health department and ask them to preserve the isolate. Whole genome sequencing is what connects one person’s illness to an outbreak strain, and isolates are routinely discarded. Once it is gone, that link can be very hard to prove. **What Marler Clark is examining** We are looking at how the blueberries became contaminated in Chile, what the supplier’s food safety plan required and whether it was followed, what testing was done on the lots that reached the United States, what the importer and the retailers knew and when, and why product that made people sick in May was still being recalled in September. **Talk to a lawyer** If you or a family member became ill with an [E. coli](https://about-ecoli.com/) infection or HUS after eating recalled frozen berries, you may have a claim. [Contact the Marler Clark E. coli attorneys](https://marlerclark.com/contact) for a free case evaluation, or call 1-800-884-9840. There is no fee unless there is a recovery. **About Marler Clark** [Marler Clark, The Food Safety Law Firm](http://www.marlerclark.com/), is the nation’s leading law firm representing victims of [E. coli](https://about-ecoli.com/)outbreaks and [hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS)](http://www.about-hus.com/). The [E. coli lawyers of Marler Clark](http://www.marlerclark.com/practice_areas/view/e-coli-o157h7-outbreak-litigation) have represented thousands of victims of *E. coli* and other foodborne illness infections and have recovered over $900 million for clients. Marler Clark is the only law firm in the nation with a practice focused exclusively on foodborne illness litigation. Our lawyers have litigated *E. coli* and HUS cases stemming from outbreaks traced to ground beef, raw milk, lettuce, spinach, sprouts, frozen berries and other food products, and have brought *E. coli* lawsuits against such companies as Jack in the Box, Dole, ConAgra, Cargill and Jimmy John’s. We have proudly represented such victims as [Brianne Kiner](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/jack-in-the-box-e-coli-outbreak-western-states), [Stephanie Smith](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/cargill-e-coli-outbreak-minnesota) and [Linda Rivera](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/multi-state-e-coli-o157h7-outbreak-linked-to-uncooked-nestle-toll-house-coo). See [Marlerblog.com](https://www.marlerblog.com/case-news/twelve-sick-four-hospitalized-the-frozen-greenwise-blueberry-e-coli-outbreak/) for more on this outbreak. ### E. coli news and updates November 08, 2022 ###### [16 days hospitalized: Summer E. Coli outbreak linked to Wendy's takes a toll on Michiganders](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/16-days-hospitalized-summer-e-coli-outbreak-linked-to-wendys-takes-a-toll-on-michiganders) The Marler Clark, E. coli attorneys represent 48 victims of the Wendy's E. coli outbreak. 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