Not enough evidence to reveal product linked to contaminated berries

New Zealanders are advised to boil the berries, or heat them to more than 85C for at least a minute. Photo / iStock

The Minister for Food Safety has defended not releasing the name of the product linked to hepatitis A contamination, saying there isn't enough evidence to support the connection.

Three of the four cases of hepatitis A linked to frozen imported berries on sale in New Zealand have come from a single source.

However, Minister for Food Safety Jo Goodhew said the name of the product would not be released because there wasn't enough evidence.

"We are not withholding any information from the public. We simply don't have enough evidence to link this virus to one specific brand yet.

"We do know that imported frozen berries are the common factor among those who tested positive for Hep A."

Jessica Wilson, researcher for Consumer NZ, said the public should be alerted to the brands linked to the contamination.

"If there's evidence identifying the brand, we believe it's in consumers' interests for this information to be made public."

Consumer's advice to the public was to check the country of origin, when stated on the packaging.

Goodhew became aware of the issue in October after the medical officer alerted the Ministry for Primary Industries to a case of hepatitis A.

She advised New Zealanders to boil the berries, or heat them to more than 85C for at least a minute.

Green Party food safety spokesman Steffan Browning said the government were keeping New Zealanders in the dark about the risk.

"The Ministry of Primary Industries can't even tell consumers which countries the suspected berries come from or which brands they suspect."

He said country of origin labelling on food should be mandatory.
"People should be able to find out where their food comes from, so they can make informed choices about what they eat and feed to their children.

Hepatitis A virus is a waterborne and foodborne liver infection for which a vaccine is available.

The disease is spread through contact with faeces of an infected person, such as through failure of an infected food handler to wash hands properly after using the toilet. After consuming the virus, it takes 15 to 50 days for symptoms to appear.

Hepatitis A symptoms include:
• Vomiting
• Fever
• Nausea
• Loss of appetite
• Jaundice (yellow skin)
• Dark urine
• Fatigue
• Abdominal pain