The FDA has expanded a months-long frozen berry recall to include a Great Value product sold at Walmart stores across 16 states, a move that widens a multistate E. coli outbreak already linked to 17 illnesses and six hospitalizations.
Frutas y Hortalizas del Sur S.A., the company behind the recall, added one lot of Great Value Organic Triple Berry Blend to a recall that first began in July targeting GreenWise-brand berries sold at Publix. The FDA issued the expanded notice on September 3, 2026, warning consumers who bought the 10-ounce bags at Walmart to throw them away or return them for a refund. The recalled product carries UPC 7874211226, lot code 6040 01-6, and a use-by date of February 9, 2028.
Walmart has pulled the product from shelves, but the FDA flagged a concern that should worry any shopper who stocks up on frozen fruit: bags may still be sitting in home freezers. With a use-by date nearly 18 months out, the window for unknowing consumption is wide open.
The timeline tells a story of a problem that kept growing. On July 3, 2026, Frutas y Hortalizas del Sur S.A. first recalled GreenWise-brand frozen organic blueberries sold at Publix. Less than a month later, on July 29, the company expanded the recall to cover GreenWise frozen mixed berries at the same retailer. Now, more than two months after the initial action, the recall has jumped to a second major grocery chain and a different store brand entirely.
USA TODAY reported that the FDA described the latest expansion as "a precautionary measure following traceback information of the previous recall." The agency did not specify what traceback evidence connected the Great Value product to the earlier GreenWise recalls, a gap that leaves consumers guessing about how deep the supply-chain problem runs.
That question matters. If both store brands drew from the same production facility or supplier lot, additional products at other retailers could be at risk. The FDA has not publicly addressed whether further brands or retailers are under investigation.
Food safety failures at the federal level are hardly new. A recent lettuce-linked parasite outbreak spread to 20 states, sickening thousands and raising the same uncomfortable questions about how long contaminated products circulate before regulators act.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last updated its outbreak data on September 3, reporting 17 confirmed illnesses and six hospitalizations. Every reported case has come from Florida or Georgia.
The outbreak strain is Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, known as STEC. It is not a mild stomach bug. The FDA warns that STEC can cause hemolytic uremic syndrome, a serious condition that attacks the kidneys and can lead to kidney failure or death. Symptoms typically appear two to eight days after exposure and usually last about a week, though complications from HUS can persist far longer.
The FDA stated in its September 3 notice that "there are no illnesses associated with this specific product to date," referring to the Great Value berries. But the precautionary framing offers limited comfort when the same company's other products have already sent people to the hospital.
Consumers have faced a steady stream of food recalls in recent months. The FDA also recalled Halloween candy sold in 13 states over undeclared allergens, part of a broader pattern of products reaching store shelves with hidden risks.
The Great Value Organic Triple Berry Blend, a mix of strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries, was sold at Walmart locations in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, and Wisconsin.
Consumers should look for the 10-ounce bag with UPC 7874211226 and lot code 6040 01-6. The use-by date is February 9, 2028. Anyone who finds a matching bag should not eat the berries. The FDA advises discarding the product or returning it to Walmart for a full refund.
The earlier GreenWise recalls at Publix covered a wider range of products. Those included GreenWise Organic IQF Blueberries in 10-ounce bags with lot code 60401 and a best-by date of February 9, 2028, as well as GreenWise Organic Whole Blueberries in 10-ounce and 48-ounce sizes and GreenWise Organic Whole Mixed Berries in the same two sizes.
The pattern of recalls expanding weeks or months after the initial notice is a recurring frustration for consumers. Similar delays have surfaced in other categories, donuts sold at Target, Kroger, and Safeway were pulled after a hidden allergen slipped past labeling checks at major retailers.
Several basic questions remain unresolved. The FDA has not disclosed the total number of Great Value units subject to the recall. It has not said whether the Great Value and GreenWise products came from the same production facility. And it has not publicly stated whether the Great Value recall carries the same highest-risk classification that was reportedly assigned to the earlier Publix recalls.
The lack of detail is a problem. Consumers deserve to know whether the contamination is isolated to a single lot or whether it signals a broader failure in the supply chain feeding frozen fruit to America's two largest grocery regions. Frutas y Hortalizas del Sur S.A., a company most shoppers have never heard of, sits behind store-brand labels at both Walmart and Publix, and the FDA has offered little transparency about the scope of the risk.
Food labeling and safety lapses continue to surface across the industry. A jalapeño ranch dressing recall over an undeclared egg allergen is just one more example of products reaching consumers without adequate safeguards.
It also raises a fair question about whether the FDA's recall process moves fast enough. Two months passed between the first GreenWise recall and the expansion to Walmart. During that window, bags of frozen berries from the same foreign supplier sat in freezers across 16 states, and the agency's own notice concedes the products "may be in consumers' freezers."
Mislabeled and contaminated food has become a persistent headache for shoppers who trust store-brand labels. A chocolate-dipped donut recall triggered by mislabeled milk showed how easily a labeling failure can put vulnerable consumers at risk.
When a foreign supplier's contaminated product can travel through two major American grocery chains under two different brand names over the course of three months before the full scope of the problem becomes clear, the system is not working the way families expect it to. Accountability should not arrive one lot at a time.
