By Ellyn Vohnoutka HealthDay Reporter
FRIDAY, Sept. 4, 2026 (HealthDay News) — A frozen berry blend sold at Walmart stores in 16 states has been pulled from shelves as a precaution, widening a recall connected to an ongoing E. coli outbreak.
Frutas y Hortalizas del Sur S.A., a produce supplier based in San Carlos, Chile, added one lot of Great Value Organic Triple Berry Blend to a recall it first announced July 3, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said.
The 10-ounce bags hold strawberries, blackberries and blueberries. Shoppers should look for UPC 7874211226, the lot code 6040 01-6 printed on the front of the package and a "best if used by" date of Feb. 9, 2028.
No illnesses have been linked to the triple berry blend. The supplier said it took the step after tracing the source of the berries in its earlier recall.
Bags went to select Walmart stores in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas and Wisconsin.
Anyone who has the product at home should throw it out or return it to Walmart for a full refund, the company said.
The E.coli outbreak has sickened 17 people in Florida and Georgia, according to the FDA. Six have been hospitalized. No deaths have been reported.
Illnesses began between May 11 and Aug. 2. Of the 13 patients interviewed by investigators, 11 said they had eaten frozen blueberries.
The germ driving the outbreak, E. coli O145:H28, makes a toxin that can trigger serious illness. Symptoms usually appear a few days after someone eats contaminated food, but they can take up to nine days to appear.
Warning signs include harsh stomach cramps, diarrhea that may be bloody, fever, nausea and vomiting.
Most otherwise healthy people recover in about a week. Some infections, though, progress to hemolytic uremic syndrome, a type of kidney failure. Young children, older adults and people with weakened immune systems face the greatest danger.
Beyond tossing the berries, the FDA is urging households to wash and disinfect any container or surface the fruit came into contact with. Frozen fruit that was moved out of its original bag should be discarded if shoppers cannot tell whether it is part of the recall.
Stores that received the berries and repackaged them for individual sale should take them off the market, the agency added.
Federal and state investigators are still working to pin down how the fruit became contaminated, and the FDA said more products may be added to the recall.
Earlier this summer, berries from the same supplier prompted a recall of GreenWise organic frozen blueberries and mixed berries sold at Publix.
More information
Visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for more information about the blueberry-linked outbreak.
SOURCES: U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Sept. 3, 2026; Frutas y Hortalizas del Sur S.A., company announcement, Sept. 2, 2026
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