Your regular smoothie routine may have just hit another snag: Just one week after some mega-grocers pulled a bunch of bags of strawberries over hepatitis A concerns, another frozen fruit recall has hit store shelves. This time the warning spans more major retailers and encompasses additional types of fruit, according to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
On June 21, Sunrise Growers—a subsidiary of SunOpta—announced a voluntary nationwide recall of several types of frozen fruit due to potential listeria contamination. According to the release, the possibly tainted products, which are linked to pineapple, came from one of their third-party suppliers.
Sunrise Growers sold their products at major retailers like Walmart, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Target, and Associated Wholesale Grocers (AWG), according to the FDA.
The recall includes the following products from those retailers:
- Walmart’s Great Value label: Great Value Mixed Fruit, Great Value Dark Sweet Cherries, and Great Value Mango Chunks sold between January 19 and June 13, 2023, in stores across 30 states.
- Whole Foods’s 365 Organic label: 365 Organic Tropical Fruit Medley, 365 Organic Pineapple Chunks, 365 Pineapple Chunks, 365 Organic Whole Strawberries, 365 Organic Slice Strawberries and Bananas, and 365 Organic Blackberries sold between November 1, 2022, to June 21, 2023, in select stores across the US.
- Trader Joe’s: Trader Joe’s Organic Tropical Fruit Blend sold between March 28 to April 11, 2023, in stores across 31 states and Washington, DC.
- Target’s Good & Gather label: Good & Gather Organic Cherries and Berries Fruit Blend, Good & Gather Dark Sweet Whole Pitted Cherries, Good & Gather Mango Strawberry Blend, Good & Gather Mixed Fruit Blend, Good & Gather Mango Chunks, Good & Gather Blueberries, and Good & Gather Triple Berry Blend sold between October 14, 2022, to May 22, 2023, in stores nationwide.
- Aldi’s Season’s Choice label: Season’s Choice Tropical Blend sold between October 11, 2022, to May 22, 2023, in stores across 27 states.
- Associated Wholesale Grocers’s Best Choice label: Best Choice Pitted Red Tart Cherries Unsweetened sold between April 5, 2023, to May 4, 2023, in stores across Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma.
Check out the release for more specifics on codes and best-by dates to help you determine if your fruit is included in the recall.
According to the statement, there haven’t been any reports of illnesses associated with the recalls so far. Still, the company recommends that you check your freezers and, if you see any affected bags, to throw them away or return them to the store for a refund.
While you may equate listeria with deli meat or soft cheese, it can also be found in fruit too—and the bacteria can be difficult to get rid of at food processing facilities, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Heating food properly (to 165 degrees Fahrenheit) can kill the bugs. This can protect you if you’re baking fruit in a pie, but it’s not exactly a feasible solution if you’re looking to make a smoothie.
So it’s important to familiarize yourself with symptoms of listeria infection. These include fever, flu-like symptoms, headaches, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, or seizures, and they typically show up within two weeks after eating affected items. In most people, listeria infections are mild, but they can be serious for people who are pregnant, older than 65, or who have weakened immune systems, according to the CDC.
Still, anyone can get sick from listeria, so if you’ve eaten any of the recalled fruit or are experiencing any of these symptoms, you should consult with your health care provider.
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