There are currently no active recalls of strawberries in Canada, but the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) said it is in close contact with American authorities following news that the popular berry has been linked to a hepatitis A outbreak in the United States.
The announcement said at the time that Hepatitis A has not been detected in the strawberries but that the company has stopped the production and distribution of the affected product as it and the FDA continue investigations into the cause of the problem.
The April 11 update, posted by the FDA, said the FDA and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are working with state and local partners to investigate an outbreak of hepatitis A virus infections after seven people became ill and two individuals were hospitalized after eating the berries.
Past Outbreak
A CFIA spokesperson told Global News on April 14 that the agency is “aware of the outbreak in the United States and is working with U.S. authorities to confirm if any affected products are sold in Canada.”“If an affected product is identified, the agency will work with industry to recall the product as soon as possible,” the spokesperson said.
The CFIA, responsible for food safety investigations and recalls in Canada, said it is monitoring the situation.
Ten individuals became ill between early and mid-April 2022, aged 10 to 75 years of age. Four ended in hospital. There were no recall warnings associated with that outbreak.
It noted that these symptoms, which usually last less than two months, may be mild and last just one or two weeks, or severe and last up to nine months, adding that symptoms typically appear 14 to 28 days later but may occur up to 50 days later.