Woman dies from hepatitis A after eating recalled frozen pomegranate

A woman has died from hepatitis A after eating Creative Gourmet frozen pomegranate arils.

The implicated product is Creative Gourmet brand pomegranate arils, sold at Coles Supermarkets.

The implicated product is Creative Gourmet brand pomegranate arils, sold at Coles Supermarkets. Source: creativegourmet.com.au

A South Australian woman has died after contracting hepatitis A linked to a national pomegranate recall.

Creative Gourmet frozen pomegranate arils were recalled two months ago but the incubation period for the infection is between 15 and 50 days, SA Health's chief medical officer Paddy Phillips said.
"The majority of people infected with hepatitis A recover fully and the woman's death is the only death linked to this recalled product nationally to date," he said.

"While we expect most people would have disposed of the recalled product, we urge everyone to double-check freezers and remove any affected products."

Professor Phillips said the woman's death has been referred to the coroner.

"This is a rare and tragic case and I offer my sincere condolences to the woman's family," he said.

Across Australia, there have been 24 cases of hepatitis A linked to the recalled product, with two of those in South Australia.

SA Health first issued advice to the public on April 7, following a precautionary recall of the product because of a link to a hepatitis A outbreak in NSW. A reminder about the recall was issued on May 8.

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

Last year, four cases of Hepatitis A infection sparked a national voluntary recall.

The batch was made by the same food company, Creative Gourmet.


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Source: AAP


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Woman dies from hepatitis A after eating recalled frozen pomegranate | SBS News