After eating frozen pomegranate, woman dies from hepatitis A

An Australian woman who ate a recalled frozen pomegranate product died of hepatitis A, health authorities announced Tuesday.

The 64-year-old woman from southern Australia ate pomegranate seeds by Creative Gourmet, a product under a precautionary recall following a hepatitis A outbreak in New South Whales.

“This is a rare and tragic case and I offer my sincere condolences to the woman’s family,” Paddy Phillips, chief medical officer at South Australian Health, said in a statement. “The majority of people infected with hepatitis A recover fully and the woman’s death is the only death linked to this recalled product nationally to date.”

Now that the incubation period for hepatitis A has passed, Phillips said, he does not anticipate any other cases related to this product. The product was originally recalled two months ago.

There have been 24 cases of hepatitis A linked to the recalled product in Australia.

In 2013, an Oregon company recalled a frozen berry mix including pomegranate seeds after the product was linked to at least 34 hepatitis A illnesses in five states.

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