Radio New Zealand: Statistics on the Food Standards Australia and New Zealand website show 23 product recalls so far this year compared to 27 last year and only 13 in 2013, which does suggest a jump. But public health officials are cautious about suggesting any significant increase.

Frozen berries and shaved ham are the latest in a list of product recalls that includes pasta, yoghurt, coconut juice, wine and chicken. Yesterday a fifth case of hepatitis A was reported, possibly also linked to frozen berries.

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) said the fifth person was briefly hospitalised. The virus will be tested to see if it is the same strain, with the Health Ministry to report results by early next week.

MPI said it was continuing its investigation into the frozen berries, from China’s eastern Shandong province, which have been linked to Hepatitis A cases in Australia. The recall now includes 1kg bags of strawberries and 1kg bags of blackberries, as well as 1kg and 500g bags of mixed berries.

Read the full article at the Radio New Zealand website