Tropical Smoothie Cafe Sued By Hepatitis A Victims For Its Frozen Strawberries

Medical Celia Hoffman
http://i1.wp.com/stocknewsusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/57b85e885f682.image_.jpg?fit=640%2C480

Thirty-five confirmed cases of hepatitis A has been reported in Virginia all associated with the Egyptian strawberries sold as frozen strawberries at the Tropical Smoothie Cafe franchise. Several people who were diagnosed with hepatitis A and a few others who had been vaccinated are suing Tropical Smoothie Cafe.

There are over 500 of the smoothie chains across the country, and Virginia isn’t the only state affected. There have been two other reports from people exposed to Tropical Smoothie Cafe products. The CDC is working with these states to find out if they are connected to Virginia’s eruption. The chain’s first shop opened in 1997 in Tallahassee, and now they have at least 40 sites in Northern Virginia alone.

Some law firms are in the process of filing multiple suits against Tropical Smoothie Cafe on behalf of the clients inflicted with hepatitis A, in addition to a class action on behalf of those who were vaccinated after having frozen strawberries from Tropical Smoothie Cafe.

The Department of Health released a health alert on August 19, which stated that the chain’s frozen strawberries sourced from Egypt were associated with the infectious Hepatitis A liver disease.

Before this week, the cafe’s Chief Executive Officer, Mike Rotondo, issued a video message to clients saying that health authorities notified him of the connection to Hepatitis A on August 5. He stated that they have voluntarily and promptly removed all of these strawberries from their cafes and have sourced new strawberries for every chain. Rotondo stated that his company considers this to be a very serious problem as the public’s health and security is their main concern. He also tried to assure the public that Tropical Smoothie Cafe supplies only high quality products.