FDA Upgrades Publix GreenWise Berry Recall to Class I Over E. coli Risk

Publix initiated the voluntary recall on July 29 covering all lots of 10-oz and 48-oz GreenWise Organic Whole Blueberries and Whole Mixed Berries after a July 3 supplier recall from Frutas y Hortalizas del Sur S.A. in Chile. The FDA reclassified the action Class I once traceback and product testing confirmed the pathogen match. Affected items carried UPCs 41415-06453, 41415-12053, 41415-06753 and 41415-12153 and were distributed across 1,413 stores in eight southeastern states. CDC surveillance through July 30 documented 12 laboratory-confirmed E. coli O157:H7 infections with four hospitalizations; no deaths were reported. Illness onset clustered within three to four days of consumption, consistent with typical incubation. High-risk groups include children under five, adults over 65, and immunocompromised patients who face elevated odds of hemolytic uremic syndrome. This event mirrors prior frozen-berry outbreaks in 2019 and 2021 where post-harvest water or equipment contamination occurred before freezing, allowing pathogens to survive. The Class I designation underscores that routine retail freezing does not eliminate risk and that traceback speed remains limited by fragmented supply-chain records. Retailers and regulators still lack real-time genomic sequencing integration that could shorten the interval between first illness and product removal. Next steps include expanded FDA import alerts on Chilean berry processors, mandatory environmental sampling at packing facilities, and possible whole-genome sequencing of remaining retail samples. CDC will continue case finding through PulseNet for 60 days after the last reported illness to verify containment.