A new section on the Consumer Protection Committee Web site seeks to inform Taiwanese about the latest developments related to the hepatitis A contamination of imported berries sold at Costco, the Executive Yuan’s Department of Consumer Protection said on Saturday.
Consumers can find the latest information, including what to do if one has eaten the berries, at cpc.ey.gov.tw/Page/9B499BF0877F365C, it said.
The department said it began coordinating response measures with local governments’ consumer protection agencies shortly after the virus was detected in a batch of Costco’s Kirkland Signature Three Berry Blend imported from Chile.
Photo courtesy of Chiayi Department of Health via CNA
Consumer protection agencies in Kaohsiung, where Costco is registered and operates a large warehouse, and in Taipei are in charge of making sure the products are removed from shelves and helping consumers return potentially tainted products, it said.
The department said it has asked Costco to cover medical expenses consumers might incur because of the berries.
Consumers can ask the Consumers’ Foundation or the Consumer Protection Association to help take legal action against Costco if they are affected, the department said, adding that the Ministry of Health and Welfare might subsidize their legal fees.
Meanwhile, aside from the berry mix, hepatitis A was also detected in Costco’s Kirkland Signature Frozen Whole Blueberries.
Costco said that all frozen berry products were removed from the company’s shelves by April 30.
The Taoyuan Department of Health said that 1,085 bags of blueberries and 6,639 bags of mixed berries had either been removed from the shelves of Costco’s two stores in Taoyuan or returned by customers.
In other locations, Chiayi City said it found that the local Costco had sold 176 bags of the berry mix to 70 customers, adding that 55 of them had registered with the company using addresses outside the city.
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