A husband and wife on Maui have filed a class-action lawsuit against the Oregon fruit distributor whose frozen berry mix has been linked to four cases of hepatitis A in Hawaii.
A Hawaii representative of Marler Clark, a Seattle-based law firm that specializes in class-action lawsuits involving foodborne illnesses, filed the lawsuit in state court Monday on behalf of Jenabe and Motoko Caldwell.
The Caldwells claim they were tested and vaccinated for the hepatitis A virus because they consumed Townsend Farms Organic Antioxidant Blend berry mix sold at Costco, or were exposed to or were in close proximity to people who ate the product. They are not claiming the product made them sick.
Townsend Farms of Fairview, Ore., has said it was recalling its mix that includes pomegranate seeds imported from Turkey, which the company said might be the source of the virus that has affected people in seven states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah.
The state Department of Health said the Organic Antioxidant Blend has been identified as the source of the virus in four Hawaii people who contracted the illness last month — three on Oahu and one on Kauai.
STATE Epidemiologist Sarah Park said a Hawaii island resident who contracted the disease consumed a different Townsend Farms frozen berry mix which was not organic. The department is trying to determine whether the berry mix or something else caused the man’s hepatitis infection.
In the meantime, Park says the Health Department has identified the Townsend product as the probable cause.
Park said the department is also investigating four other recent cases of hepatitis A in Hawaii.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that as of Monday 87 people in Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Washington had contracted acute hepatitis A infections linked to the purchase of the Townsend organic berry mix sold at Costco. Thirty-six were hospitalized.
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Correction: Motoko Caldwell’s first name was misspelled in a previous version of this story.
