Food recall

Townsend Farms Inc recall: The Costco product is sold under brand name Townsend Farms Organic Antioxidant Blend - The product is a mix of IQF...

Townsend Farms Inc, of Fairview, OR, recalled The Costco product is sold under brand name Townsend Farms Organic Antioxidant Blend - The product is a mix of IQF.... The FDA's reason: “Harris Teeter Organics Antioxidant Berry Blend (10 oz.) and Townsend Farms Organic Antioxidant Blend (3 lbs.) are recalled because it has the potential to be contaminated with Hepatitis A virus,...” The FDA classified it Class I: it could cause serious harm or death. The company began the recall voluntarily on June 3, 2013, and the FDA first listed it in its Enforcement Report of December 11, 2013. The FDA has closed the recall: it found the company did all it reasonably could to remove or correct the product.

How serious

Class I

It could cause serious harm or death

Why

Other germs or toxins (botulism, hepatitis A, mold...)

Status

Terminated

Closed September 11, 2018

The recall

Company
Townsend Farms Inc (Fairview, OR)
Reason, in FDA's words
“Harris Teeter Organics Antioxidant Berry Blend (10 oz.) and Townsend Farms Organic Antioxidant Blend (3 lbs.) are recalled because it has the potential to be contaminated with Hepatitis A virus, based on the epidemiological and traceback investigation by the FDA and the CDC, of an illness outbreak.”
Where it was sold
Product was distributed from Townsend Farms to consignees' distribution centers in Arizona, California, North Carolina, Utah, and Washington.
Recall began
, by the company
FDA classified it
First in an FDA Enforcement Report
FDA event number
65359

The product recalled

As the FDA describes them, with the codes that tell whether a package is part of the recall.

  • F-0701-2014 Class I

    The Costco product is sold under brand name Townsend Farms Organic Antioxidant Blend - The product is a mix of IQF organic berries, specifically; dark tart cherries, pomegranate arils, strawberries, red raspberries, and blueberries. The product is packaged into plastic bags with a net wt. 48oz (3 lbs) 1.36kg. There are 12 bags in a case. The Costco item # is 595820 and has the UPC 0 78414 40444 8. Harris Teeter Organics Antioxidant Berry Blend - The product is a mix of IQF organic berries, specifically; dark tart cherries, pomegranate arils, strawberries, red raspberries, and blueberries. The product is packaged into plastic bags with a net wt. 10 oz (283 g). There are 12 bags in a case. The Harris Teeter product has the UPC 0 72036 70463 4. For the Costco product there are two different labels: The first Costco product label reads in part "*** USDA ORGANIC***Organic Antioxidant Blend*** DARK TART CHERRIES, POMEGRANATE ARILS, STRAWBERRIES, RED RASPBERRIES, BLUEBERRIES***Townsend Farms *** Individually Quick Frozen KEEP FROZEN *** NET WT. 48oz (3 LBS) 1.36KG ***". The second Costco product label reads in part "***HEART HEALTHY HIGH IN ANTIOXIDANTS***Organic Antioxidant Blend***DARK TART CHERRIES, BLUEBERRIES, POMEGRANATE ARILS, RED RASPBERRIES, STRAWBERRIES***Individually Quick Frozen All Natural No Preservatives*** USDA ORGANIC***Townsend Farms *** Grower Processor Distributor*** KEEP FROZEN *** Net Wt. 48oz (3 lbs) 1.36kg***ITEM #595820***". The Harris Teeter label reads in part "***HARRIS TEETER***Organics Antioxidant Berry Blend***Organic Dark Cherries, Organic Blueberries, Organic Pomegranate, Organic Red Raspberries & Organic Strawberries *** USDA ORGANIC***NET WT 10 OZ (283 G)***KEEP FROZEN *** PROUDLY DISTRIBUTED BY: HARRIS TEETER *** MATHEWS, NC 28105 ***".

    Codes: Costco Townsend Farms Organic Antioxidant Blend: BEST BY from T012415 sequentially through T053115, followed by a letter and BEST BY from T122114 sequentially through T053115, followed by a letter. All letter designations are included in the voluntary recall. Harris Teeter Organics Antioxidant Berry Blend product has lot codes T041613C and T041613E and the BEST BY code 101614. The codes are breakdown as: Townsend Farms Organic Antioxidant Blend: T = Townsend, 053115 = a two year best by date from the day it was manufactured, Letter = a two hour window of production; Harris Teeter Organic Antioxidant Berry Blend - T = Townsend, 041613 = the date the product was produced, C or E = a two hour window of production, BEST BY 101614 = 18 month best by date.

    Quantity: 504,060 retail packages (3 lbs.) and 6,300 retail packages (10 oz.)

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Source and notes

U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Enforcement Reports (openFDA food recall data) (Public domain (U.S. government work); source U.S. Food and Drug Administration, openFDA), data as of December 11, 2013.

Each week the FDA lists the recalls it has classified in its Enforcement Report, often weeks after the company announced the recall, so a month with five weekly reports tends to count more. Each recall counts once, however many products it covers, in the month FDA first listed it. Class I means the food could cause serious harm or death, Class II temporary or minor harm, and Class III is unlikely to harm anyone. Meat, poultry and most egg products are recalled by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, not the FDA, and aren't included. For what to do with a recalled product, see the FDA's recalls page.