Federal health officials just told anyone with GreenWise frozen berries in their freezer to throw them out now, because the recall risk level just hit the top of the scale.
Quick Take
- The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) upgraded a Publix frozen berry recall to Class I, its highest-risk category.
- The recall covers GreenWise Organic Whole Blueberries and Whole Mixed Berries sold in eight states.
- Health officials link the berries to E. coli O145:H28 infections that have sickened 17 people and hospitalized six.
- The Chilean supplier, Frutas y Hortalizas del Sur S.A., first recalled one lot in July before expanding to all lots.
What The FDA Just Announced
The FDA classified the Publix berry recall as Class I on August 18, its most serious warning level. This label means eating the product carries a “reasonable probability” of serious harm or death. The agency does not hand out this classification lightly. It reserves Class I for cases where the danger to public health is real and immediate, not theoretical.
Publix pulled every lot of GreenWise Organic Whole Blueberries and Whole Mixed Berries from its shelves. The recall notice lists exact package sizes and UPC codes, including 10-ounce and 48-ounce blueberry bags, so shoppers can check their own freezers against specific product codes. The berries were shipped to Publix stores across eight states, meaning the reach of this recall stretches well beyond one region.
How The Outbreak Was Traced
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and FDA say epidemiologic and traceback data point to frozen organic blueberries supplied by Frutas y Hortalizas del Sur S.A. in San Carlos, Chile. Investigators matched illness patterns and purchase records back to that supplier. Both agencies tell the public plainly not to eat, sell, or serve any of the recalled blueberries or mixed berries, regardless of how the package looks or smells.
The case count has grown since the recall first began. Twelve confirmed illnesses tied to the outbreak surfaced between May 11 and June 5, 2026. By early September, that number climbed to 17 people sickened, with six hospitalized and no deaths reported. The rising tally is part of why the recall escalated rather than shrank over time.
A Recall That Kept Growing
This did not start as an all-lots recall. Frutas y Hortalizas del Sur first pulled a single lot of blueberries on July 3. Publix then expanded that action on July 29 to include every lot of its GreenWise blueberries and mixed berries. The supplier widened its own recall again in early September, showing the response kept scaling up as investigators learned more.
Frozen fruit poses a special problem here. Unlike fresh produce that spoils quickly, these berries carry expiration dates stretching into 2028. That means bags bought months ago could still be sitting in home freezers right now, long after they vanished from store shelves. The FDA is urging consumers to check dates and discard or return any matching product for a refund.
Why The Risk Level Matters
A Class I designation is not a routine paperwork update. It tells consumers the FDA believes real people could suffer serious illness or worse if they eat this product. For a family with a bag of GreenWise berries in the back of the freezer, that distinction is the difference between a minor inconvenience and a genuine health threat sitting a few feet from the ice cream.
This case also fits a broader pattern with frozen produce. Because frozen items last so long, contaminated lots can linger in kitchens for months after a recall starts, which is why agencies often widen these actions rather than narrow them. That is exactly what happened here, moving from one lot to a full product-line recall as the outbreak picture became clearer.
What Shoppers Should Do Now
Anyone with GreenWise Organic Whole Blueberries or Whole Mixed Berries should check the UPC codes against the FDA notice immediately. If the product matches, do not taste it, cook it, or feed it to family. Throw it away or bring it back to Publix for a refund, and watch for stomach illness symptoms if the berries were already eaten in recent weeks.
FROZEN BERRY OUTBREAK REACHES FDA’S HIGHEST RISK LEVEL
This one may still be sitting in freezers across America.
An E. coli outbreak linked to frozen organic blueberries has now reached the FDA’s most serious recall classification.
12 people have been sickened and 4… pic.twitter.com/972k9RUTM9
— Michael Bradbury (@MrMBB333) August 22, 2026
Consumers should also keep an eye on FDA and CDC recall pages directly, since this outbreak investigation has already changed shape several times since July. Checking official sources beats relying on secondhand grocery store rumors, especially when a Class I warning is on the table.
Sources:
fda.gov, usatoday.com, abcnews.com, cdc.gov, fruitgrowersnews.com
