Updated

Updated · Detroit Free Press · Aug 20

Publix Recalls 4 GreenWise Frozen Berry Products Over Possible E. coli in 8 States

Updated

Updated · Detroit Free Press · Aug 20

Publix Recalls 4 GreenWise Frozen Berry Products Over Possible E. coli in 8 States

Q: Why does freezing fail to kill the severe E. coli strain hidden inside these recalled organic berries?

Freezing does not reliably kill E. coli; it mainly stops the bacteria from growing while the fruit remains frozen. If berries were contaminated before freezing, the severe strain can survive in a dormant state and become dangerous again when the fruit is thawed or eaten without a kill step. That is because freezer temperatures are not the same as cooking temperatures. Cold slows metabolism and can damage some bacterial cells, but many survive the stress. Food-safety research shows bacteria such as Shiga toxin-producing E. coli can withstand freezing by using stress-response mechanisms that protect their membranes, proteins and genetic material. On frozen fruit, low water activity and the berry surface can also help preserve some cells rather than destroy them. Heat, by contrast, is what reliably kills E. coli. Sufficient cooking denatures essential proteins and disrupts cell structures in ways freezing does not. That is why public-health officials keep warning that frozen produce is not automatically safe to eat raw, in smoothies, or after only partial thawing. In this outbreak, the concern is E. coli O145:H28, a Shiga toxin-producing strain linked by the FDA and CDC to recalled GreenWise frozen berries sold at Publix in eight Southern states. Michigan was not part of the distribution area. Consumers are being told to discard or return the berries and sanitize anything that touched them, because freezing preserved the fruit—but may also have preserved the pathogen.

3 articles · Updated · Detroit Free Press · Aug 20

Publix pulled four GreenWise frozen berry products—organic whole blueberries and mixed berries in 10-ounce and 48-ounce bags—as federal officials investigate a possible E. coli link.
Eight Southern states received the recalled fruit: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia; Michigan was not affected.
Florida and Georgia have reported illnesses potentially tied to the products, according to the FDA recall notice and CDC investigation.
One earlier supplier recall covered a single lot of 10-ounce organic blueberries with lot code 60401 and a best-by date of Feb. 9, 2028.
Federal officials told consumers not to eat the berries and to discard them or return them to the store.