A woman who contracted Hepatitis A, a liver disease, from frozen berries in a Costco drink is suing Costco and the farm that they came from, ABC News reported.
The organic berries "reduced exposure to synthetic pesticides," according to Townsend Farm's website. The 49 people who became ill after eating the berries do not agree.
"It's very scary that this could happen to anyone," said Lynda Brackenridge who is suing the distributors.
Brackenridge began to feel achy and fatigued shortly after consuming the Organic Antioxidant Blend frozen berries grown on the Oregon farm.
Soon after she began to vomit, and noticed her urine was dark and her eyes and skin were a yellow color.
Brackenridge is still in the hospital and it's not know when she will be able to go home. Doctor's still cannot guarantee if the woman will make a full recovery.
Hepatitis A can be spread between people if the infected person does not properly wash their hands after using the bathroom, it's often found in countries where there are low standards for food sanitation.
This particular strain of Hepatitis A is uncommon in America, it is mostly found in areas of the middle East and Africa. The berry mix label claims that the ingredients are from "Argentina, Chile, Turkey and the United States."
Researchers are especially looking into pomegranate seeds that were imported from Turkey as the source of the outbreak.
There is no FDA approved test for the disease on berries, green onions are the only product that is regularly tested, Craig Wilson, vice president of food safety and quality assurance at Costco stated to ABC News.
The test that is used for green onions was used to check the berries, but multiple tests came out negative.
Brackenridge's lawyer Ron Simon of Simon and Luke LLC claimed that organic food may seem safer, but this is not the first time this has happened.
"Organic does not equal safe," he said. "We see this all the time,"
In December, 33 people came down with E. Coli from eating contaminated organic spinach.
