Tainted Blueberries Trigger Urgent Recall

A Publix blueberry recall has gone national enough to make shoppers check the freezer twice, because the linked lot is tied to 12 illnesses and a strain of E. coli that can hit hard.

Quick Take

Publix and the supplier recalled GreenWise Organic IQF Blueberries after a presumptive test for E. coli O145:H28 and reports of illness.
The recall covers one 10-ounce lot, code 60401, with a best-by date of February 9, 2028.
Officials said 12 confirmed illnesses were linked to the product between May 11 and June 5, 2026.
The berries were sent to Publix stores in eight states, and customers were told to return or discard them.

What Publix Is Pulling From Shelves

Frutas y Hortalizas del Sur S.A. initiated a recall of GreenWise Organic IQF Blueberries after the product tested presumptively positive for E. coli O145:H28, a Shiga toxin-producing strain.

The recall applies only to 10-ounce bags with lot code 60401 and a best-by date of February 9, 2028, and Publix said no other lot numbers are included.

The recalled berries were distributed to Publix stores in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. Publix told customers to either return the berries for a refund or throw them away, and advised people to check purchases made on or before July 3, 2026.

Why This Recall Matters

This is not a routine shelf cleanout. The supplier said it had reports of 12 confirmed illnesses tied to E. coli O145:H28 between May 11 and June 5, 2026, and that timeline gave the recall urgency.

The illness count came from the supplier notice, not from a federal outbreak posting, which is a reminder that recall timing can move faster than public agency alerts.

E. coli O145 is one of the strains that food safety experts watch closely because Shiga toxin-producing forms can cause severe stomach cramps, vomiting, and bloody diarrhea.

In some cases, they can also lead to hemolytic uremic syndrome, a serious kidney complication. That is why consumer warnings for contaminated produce usually sound blunt: do not eat it, even if the bag still looks fine.

Why Frozen Berries Keep Showing Up In Recalls

Frozen berries have a long history in public health. The Food and Drug Administration has said frozen berries were linked to four U.S. outbreaks between 1997 and 2016, including three hepatitis A outbreaks and one norovirus outbreak.

The larger lesson is simple and uncomfortable: freezing can preserve germs as well as fruit, so time in the freezer does not always make a risky product safe.

That pattern helps explain why berry recalls often begin with supplier action before federal confirmation is public. Companies have strong reasons to move quickly when a product test or illness report raises concern.

They want to protect consumers, limit further exposure, and show they acted before a wider outbreak worsened. Shoppers rarely see that back-end scramble, but they feel the result in their freezer.

Frutas y Hortalizas del Sur S.A. Initiates Recall of Frozen GreenWise Organic IQF Blueberries Due to Potential E. coli O145 Contamination https://t.co/37H4s5Td45 pic.twitter.com/s2nyJLFto0

— U.S. FDA Recalls (@FDArecalls) July 7, 2026

For Publix customers, the practical rule is plain. Check for GreenWise Organic IQF Blueberries in a 10-ounce bag, lot code 60401, best by February 9, 2028.

If the package matches, do not serve it, do not taste it, and do not assume a frozen bag is harmless because it has been sitting untouched for weeks. This is one of those recalls where caution is not overreaction; it is the point.