Marler Clark filed the first lawsuit in this outbreak on May 3, 2022, on behalf of a family sickened by these berries.
As of May 27, 2022, there is an active investigation of tainted strawberries by the FDA, CDC, Public Health Agency of Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. These agencies will consider multi-state hepatitis A illnesses linked to organic fresh strawberries branded as FreshKampo and HEB. Any berries purchased between March 5, 2022 and April 25, 2022 are included in this investigation.
Victims of hepatitis A outbreak in Canada and United States
Total United States Illnesses: 18– Canada 10
United States Hospitalizations: 13 – Canada 4
Illness onset dates range from March 28 – April 30, 2022.
States with Cases: California (16), Minnesota (1), North Dakota (1) – Provinces with Cases: Alberta (4) and Saskatchewan (6)
Product Distribution: United State and Canada
Fresh organic strawberries sold during the March 5 to April 25 time period are past shelf life. However, consumers who may have bought the FreshKampo and HEB products and frozen them for later consumption should not eat these berries. The potentially affected strawberries were sold at the following retailers, including, but not limited to:
- Aldi
- HEB
- Kroger
- Safeway
- Sprouts Farmers Market
- Trader Joe’s
- Walmart
- Weis Markets
- WinCo Foods
- Canadian Co-op stores
If you have consumed these strawberries in the last few weeks and are exhibiting symptoms of hepatitis A, contact your health provider. A vaccination can help prevent hepatitis A infection, if given within 14 days of exposure.
Hepatitis A symptoms include:
• Yellow skin or eyes
• Not wanting to eat
• Upset stomach
• Throwing up
• Stomach pain
• Fever
• Dark urine or light-colored stools
• Diarrhea
• Joint pain
• Feeling tired
After exposure to hepatitis A, symptoms usually appear 14 to 28 days later, but can potentially occur up to 50 days later. Typical hepatitis A infections resulting in symptoms, can persist for two months. Most people recover fully, but the risk of complications increases with older age and in those with underlying liver disease. In severe cases, illnesses can last up to nine months with long term medical conditions.
Hepatitis A: Marler Clark, The Food Safety Law Firm, is the nation’s leading law firm representing victims of Hepatitis A outbreaks. The Hepatitis A lawyers of Marler Clark have represented thousands of victims of Hepatitis A and other foodborne illness outbreaks and have recovered over $800 million for clients. Marler Clark is the only law firm in the nation with a practice focused exclusively on foodborne illness litigation. Our Hepatitis A lawyers have litigated Hepatitis A cases stemming from outbreaks traced to a variety of sources, such as green onions, lettuce and restaurant food. The law firm has brought Hepatitis A lawsuits against such companies as Costco, Subway, McDonald’s, Red Robin, Chipotle, Quiznos and Carl’s Jr. We proudly represented the family of Donald Rockwell, who died after consuming Hepatitis A tainted food and Richard Miller, who required a liver transplant after eating food at a Chi-Chi’s restaurant.
If you or a family member became ill with a Hepatitis A infection after consuming food and you’re interested in pursuing a legal claim, contact the Marler Clark Hepatitis A attorneys for a free case evaluation.