NSW’s health authority has confirmed six cases of hepatitis A have been linked to frozen pomegranate, while three further cases are being investigated.
Last week, NSW Health warned people who may have bought frozen pomegranate from Coles not to eat it, after multiple people had contracted hepatitis A after consuming Creative Gourmet’s frozen pomegranates.
Five cases of hepatitis A have now been connected to Creative Gourmet’s frozen pomegranates in NSW and a sixth case in Western Australia, NSW Health says.
Creative Gourmet issued a nationwide “precautionary recall of a relatively small batch” of its frozen pomegranates on Saturday, after being contacted by NSW Health.
NSW Health warned anyone who bought a 180-gram packet of Creative Gourmet Frozen Pomegranate Arils with a best before date up to and including March 21, 2020 to throw it out or return it to the place of purchase. Coles has offered free refunds to customers who return the product to their supermarkets.
This isn’t the first serious product recall for Creative Gourmet. The company had to remove its frozen mixed berries products from supermarket shelves in June 2017 and also in 2015 after they were linked to outbreaks of hepatitis A.
Hepatitis A affects the liver, with symptoms including nausea, vomiting, fever and yellowing of the skin, abdominal pain and loss of appetite.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports, NSW Health’s director of communicable diseases, Vicky Sheppeard, has advised people who have eaten frozen pomegranates in the past two weeks to seek out vaccinations and advice from their doctor.
“If you are unsure if you have been vaccinated in the past, it is safe to be re-vaccinated,” she said.
