Mango products sold locally could be contaminated with Hepatitis A

Local residents are being asked to check their freezers for frozen mango products potentially contaminated with Hepatitis A, as some are known to have been distributed in the region.  

The Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit warns the frozen mango products suspected of being contaminated were sold in some stores in Haliburton County, Northumberland County and Kawartha Lakes. Anyone with this frozen fruit product at home is asked not to eat it, but instead immediately throw out the product or return it to the store. If anyone has eaten the affected product within the past 14 days, they need to contact their health care provider.  

Child care facilities, day camps, overnight camps and long-term care homes should also check their food products to determine if the recalled product was served.  

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) issued a food recall warning on July 30 relating to Nature’s Touch Frozen Food Inc. Various brands of the company’s frozen mango products are possibly contaminated with Hepatitis A. The affected products were widely available in multiple grocery store chains and independent retailers in Ontario and elsewhere in Canada. Specific product information include:  

• Nature’s Touch frozen mangoes: 2 kg size; UPC: 873668001807; Best before date: Nov. 9, 2022 
• Compliments frozen mango mania: 600 g size; UPC: 055742504309; Best before date: Nov. 10, 2022 and Dec. 18, 2022 
• Irresistibles frozen mango chunks: 600 g size; UPC: 059749876001; Best before date: Nov. 10, 2022 
• President’s Choice frozen mango chunks: 600 g size; UPC: 060383993870; Best before date: Nov. 6, 2022 and Nov. 10, 2022 “We strongly urge anyone who purchased these frozen mango products to avoid eating them and immediately dispose or return the items to the store,” says Dr. Natalie Bocking, Medical Officer of Health with the HKPR District Health Unit. “If you have eaten this affected product within the last 14 days, please contact your health care provider or the Health Unit to receive post-exposure prophylaxis care, which may involve getting the Hepatitis A vaccine.”  People can call the Health Unit at 1-866-888-4577, ext. 1507 for more information. Health Unit staff are also contacting local stores that may have sold the frozen mango products to ensure they are removed from shelves.  Hepatitis A is a liver disease caused by the hepatitis A virus. Symptoms of hepatitis A usually appear within 14 to 28 days of exposure but may take up to 50 days to appear. Individuals may be infected, but not have symptoms. Symptoms can include: fever, stomach pain, dark urine, nausea and vomiting, tiredness, loss of appetite, jaundice (skin and whites of eyes turn yellow), and clay or ash-coloured bowel movements.  Hepatitis A is usually spread by eating or drinking food or water contaminated with the virus. It may also be spread through close contact with an infectious person.