Health alert as 13 people infected with hepatitis A after eating frozen strawberries
The outbreak in Sweden has prompted health experts in the UK to issue a warning about eating frozen fruit
HEALTH officials have warned that 13 people were infected with hepatitis A after eating frozen strawberries.
The outbreak in Sweden is linked to fruit imported from a Polish company, officials revealed.
It comes just weeks after Brits were warned to heat up frozen sweetcorn before eating the veg, amid an outbreak of listeria that's killed nine people.
The first confirmed cases of hep A cropped up in May, with more people falling sick in June, Food Safety News reported.
Every case has been traced back to the same company in Poland, Sweden's National Food Agency and Public Health Agency confirmed.
People became infected with the virus after failing to cook the frozen fruit before eating it.
Instead the 13 people added the frozen berries to smoothies and desserts straight from the freezer.
Brits aren't at direct risk, but food safety experts urged everyone to check before using frozen fruit in their smoothies.
The Food Standard's Agency told The Sun: "Currently we have no evidence that any of this product has made its way into the UK.
"The FSA's advice is that frozen fruit, like frozen vegetables, should be prepared according to the instructions on the pack."
HEPATITIS A: A LIVER INFECTION THAT CAN PROVE DEADLY
HEPATITIS A is a liver infection caused by a virus.
It's spread via the poo of an infected person, the NHS reveals.
It's not common in the UK but certain groups are at higher risk.
They include people travelling to parts of the world with poor sanitation, men who have sex with men and drug users.
Hep A can be nasty, but it's not typically serious.
Most people make a full recovery within a couple of months.
But, some people might not show symptoms, and in rare cases hep A can last months, becoming life-threatening.
It can prove deadly if it causes the liver to stop working properly - liver failure.
Symptoms include:
- feeling tired and generally unwell
- joint and muscle pain
- high temperature
- loss of appetite
- feeling or being sick
- pain in the upper right side of the tummy
- yellowing of the skin and eyes
- dark pee and pale stools
- itchy skin
Symptoms will typically clear in a matter of months.
Dr Lisa Ackerley, a food safety expert, echoed the FSA's advice.
She told The Sun despite what many people think, "not all frozen fruit is ready-to-eat" - with the same going for frozen veg.
"The safest way to eat frozen fruit is to wash it and freeze it yourself first.
"Be very careful to look at instructions on the pack," Lisa said.
Don’t use frozen fruit in smoothies unless it says ready to eat on the packet
Dr Lisa Ackerley
"Don’t use frozen fruit in smoothies unless it says ready to eat on the packet.
"You can freeze your own fruit for smoothies - wash your hands first, wash the fruit and chop on a clean chopping board before putting it in freezer bags, extracting as much air as possible.
"Label them so you know what you have.
"These bags of fruit can be blended from frozen or be defrosted in the fridge in a bowl to use as a dessert."
Nearly a dozen people have fallen ill across Europe after eating frozen sweetcorn, prompting supermarkets including Tesco, Sainsbury's, Lidl and Aldi to recall more than 50 frozen products.
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The European Food Safety Authority also warned about eating uncooked frozen products, including spinach and green beans.
A freezing plant in Hungary is thought to be the source of the listeria contamination, with two of the 11 UK cases showing patients consumed the same brand of frozen corn, from the same UK supermarket known to be supplied by Hungary.
As it emerged nine people lost their lives in the listeriosis outbreak linked to frozen sweetcorn, we revealed the hidden dangers in your freezer.