Health Highlights: June 3, 2013

A frozen berry and pomegranate seed mix sold by Costco has been linked to an outbreak of acute hepatitis A that has sickened at least 30 people in Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona and California, federal health officials say.

The first victims became ill on April 29 and the most recent case was May 17, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention news release issued Friday. The CDC believes there will be more cases, USA Today reported.

A product called The Townsend Farms Organic Anti-oxidant Blend Frozen Berry Mix appears to be linked to the outbreak, officials said. Costco has removed the product from it shelves and notified all customers who purchased it since late February.

It's not yet known if the product was sold at other stores or markets, health officials said. But they noted that frozen berry blends are often used to make smoothies, frozen bar drinks and other types of drinks and desserts. They are concerned that smaller businesses might have bought bulk amounts of the frozen berry mix at Costco and used it in other products, USA Today reported.

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