Smoothie Mix Linked to Hepatitis A Outbreak

Better think twice about ordering that smoothie. If it was made with Townsend Farms Organic Antioxidant Blend, a frozen mix of berries and pomegranate seeds often used in smoothies, it could give you acute Hepatitis A—and no smoothie is worth Hepatitis A, no matter how acute. According to the CDC, 30 people across five states have been infected with the virus as a result of eating the fruity mix—nine of whom have been hospitalized. A certain type of Turkish pomegranate seed used in the mix seems to be responsible for the outbreak. People can recover fully from mild cases of Hepatitis A without treatment, but the most severe cases can result in liver failure and death.