Berries not confirmed hep A cause: Patties

Patties Foods says there's no firm proof their recalled berries are to blame for a hepatitis A outbreak.

A packet of contaminated, imported frozen berries

Health officers are on the lookout for more hepatitis A cases among people who ate imported berries. (AAP)

Patties Foods says there's still no firm link between a national hepatitis A outbreak and its recalled berries.

The company says its imported Chinese berries were recalled on health department advice despite a lack of proof from accredited laboratories of a link to the hepatitis A virus (HAV).

"At this point, we have not been provided any remaining consumer product to test from the 13 confirmed HAV cases to clinically verify there is indeed a link with the Nanna's Mixed Berries," managing director and chief executive Stephen Chaur said in a statement on Friday.

Later on Friday the health department said a 14th case had been confirmed in NSW.

Mr Chaur said the company had rigorous testing that went beyond the Australian standards requirement that five per cent of imported fruit containers be tested.

"Patties Foods' documented test regime is amongst the highest, testing 20 per cent of all the containers when they arrive in Australia," he said.

But Mr Chaur said sample testing for microbial and viral markers had been increased to 100 per cent of imported frozen berries from all countries.

The company has checked quality control testing documents back to June 2014 and says they're satisfied no biological indicators outside Australian guidelines have been detected.

Recalled products are being tested further at laboratories in Australia, Europe and North America with results expected in a fortnight.

Production of recalled products has been stopped until the formal results are known.

The health department says the source of the virus is still unconfirmed but the berries are the only common exposure in all cases.

The Department of Agriculture is asking all companies importing Chinese berries for more information about their sources and food safety management.

Food Standards Australia New Zealand will review of the risk status of frozen berries.


Share

2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world