A wrongful death lawsuit filed in Pinellas County Circuit Court says a Florida mother, Karla Mullins, died June 20 after eating GreenWise Organic frozen blueberries purchased at a Publix in Largo. According to the complaint, her son ate the same berries and was hospitalized with serious injuries. The lawsuit, filed by Morgan & Morgan, names Publix and distributor Quirch Foods as defendants.
The berries were linked to a multistate E. coli outbreak. The initial recall began July 3, and on July 29 it was expanded to all lots of GreenWise organic whole blueberries and whole mixed berries sold at Publix stores in Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. The CDC and FDA declared the outbreak over Monday, reporting 17 people sickened and several hospitalized.
For Suncoast shoppers, the immediate step is simple: open your freezer and check for GreenWise organic whole blueberries and whole mixed berries. If you find any, don’t eat them. The legal case will play out over months, but the food safety lesson is already here.
Have you checked your freezer yet? Tell us in the comments.
