Tainted berries still sickening

The number of Hepatitis A cases associated with the Townsend Farms Organic Antioxidant Blend of frozen berries sold at Costco has risen to 127 people across eight states.

Though 54 people have been hospitalized due to the outbreak—which has been ongoing since May—there have been no deaths to date, and Costco has taken the berries off shelves and issued a recall, according to Food Poisoning Bulletin. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is inspecting Townsend’s processing facilities in Fairview, Ore.

Customers of A Frame Espresso in Fort Bragg who bought smoothies between March 4 and June 8 are at risk of infection, as are customers of Evo’s Coffee Lounge in Ashland, Ore., who bought the shop’s smoothies between May 17 and June 12.

Hepatitis A causes liver inflammation; symptoms—which include fever, vomiting and stomach pain—can take up to seven weeks to develop after exposure.