Two people hospitalised after eating frozen pomegranate

TWO people have been hospitalised with hep A, including one in a serious condition, after eating frozen pomegranate bought at Coles.

A 64-YEAR-OLD woman remains in a South Australian hospital in a serious condition after contracting hepatitis A linked to frozen pomegranate that’s affected 11 people across the country.

A 33-year-old man was also hospitalised, but has subsequently been discharged, SA Health said in a statement.

A recall of the Creative Gourmet frozen product from Coles in New South Wales was initiated last month by Entyce Food Ingredients, after it was linked to a hepatitis A outbreak in that state. Nine people in NSW were infected.

SA Health’s director of food and controlled drugs, Dr Fay Jenkins, said while there was currently no laboratory results linking the two new cases to the outbreak, it was an important reminder for consumers to dispose of any affected products.

“The gap between eating one of these products and becoming sick can be any time between 15 days and 50 days, so it’s quite possible that the two cases in South Australia ate this product before the recall happened,” Dr Jenkins told the Nine Network on Wednesday.

“We know frozen goods, in particular foods like berries and pomegranate, can sometimes stay in people’s freezers for many months following their purchase,” she said in a statement.

“We would ask consumers to check their freezer and dispose of 180g Creative Gourmet Frozen Pomegranate Arils packets with any best-before date up to March 21, 2020, or return them to Coles for a full refund.”

Symptoms for hepatitis A include nausea, vomiting, fever and yellowing of the skin.

Fresh pomegranate and frozen Australian-grown pomegranate products are not affected.