A frozen berry blend sold at Walmart stores in Spring and 15 other states has been recalled over possible E. coli contamination.

Spring shoppers who bought Great Value Organic Triple Berry Blend should check their freezers. Chilean supplier Frutas y Hortalizas del Sur S.A. expanded a frozen fruit recall on Sept. 2 to include one lot of the 10-ounce berry blend. The product may be contaminated with E. coli O145, a Shiga toxin-producing strain, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The recalled bags carry lot code 6040 01-6, UPC 78742-11226 and a best-if-used-by date of Feb. 9, 2028. The blend contains strawberries, blackberries and blueberries.

Spring Walmart locations include stores on Sawdust Road, Kuykendahl Road, Aldine Westfield Road and at Louetta Crossing.

Why the recall expanded

The company first recalled its frozen organic blueberries on July 3 after the Florida Department of Health flagged a cluster of E. coli O145 infections. Traceback information from that earlier action led to the Sept. 2 expansion covering the triple berry blend, Click2Houston reported.

No illnesses have been tied to the triple berry product itself. The recall is precautionary.

The broader outbreak linked to frozen blueberries from the same supplier had sickened 17 people across Florida and Georgia as of Sept. 3. Six were hospitalized, the FDA and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported. No deaths were reported.

Publix also pulled its GreenWise-brand frozen organic blueberries and mixed berries from stores in eight states as part of the same investigation, according to Quartz.

What to do

The FDA advises anyone who has the recalled product to throw it away or return it to Walmart for a full refund. Because the best-if-used-by date stretches to February 2028, affected bags could still be sitting in home freezers months after stores cleared their shelves.

The agency also recommends cleaning and sanitizing any surfaces or containers that touched the recalled berries.

In its Sept. 2 recall notice, the company called the action a precautionary step based on traceback information from the earlier blueberry recall and said no illnesses had been linked to the triple berry product.

Symptoms to watch for

E. coli O145 infections can cause severe stomach cramps, diarrhea that may be bloody, fever, nausea and vomiting. Symptoms can start a few days to nine days after eating contaminated food.

Young children, older adults and people with weakened immune systems face the greatest risk of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a type of kidney failure.

Anyone who ate the recalled berries and develops symptoms should contact a health care provider.

The FDA's outbreak investigation was listed as ongoing as of Sept. 11. Consumers with questions can reach media representative Joshua Weiss at 336-899-5612.