Two dozen people were sickened in the Netherlands after eating blueberries contaminated with hepatitis A. The National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) said it received 24 reports of people who very likely contracted hepatitis A from frozen blueberries. This is double the number of cases since the outbreak was announced.
People became ill between November 2024 and February 2025. Patients are 13 men and 11 women, aged between 16 and 77. Eight of them were admitted to hospitals.
A total of 19 people had eaten the frozen blueberries from retailer Albert Heijn. This was the likely cause for three people. One case possibly got the disease from another patient and for another person it is unknown how they got sick.
Albert Heijn previously issued a warning about blueberries that may be contaminated with hepatitis A. It concerned frozen blueberries 1-kilogram with expiration dates up to April 14, 2026. The affected berries came from a supplier in Poland.
They were sold from October 2024 to Jan. 13, 2025. The batch with date April 14, 2026 included 20,260 bags.
In January, Albert Heijn said each batch is tested and previous analysis did not find hepatitis A. How the berries were contaminated was being investigated. According to RIVM, in two packs of blueberries from one of the patients, the hepatitis A virus was detected in the laboratory.
On Jan. 13, the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) and Albert Heijn called on people not to eat th.