Candy distributed nationwide could be contaminated with hepatitis A, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said in a health alert.
The candy was described as individually wrapped marshmallow candy dipped in chocolate or caramel known as Bauer’s Candies Modjeskas.
They were produced by Kentucky-based Bauer’s Candies.
“We are advising consumers not to eat and to throw away any Bauer’s Candies Chocolate or Caramel Modjeskas, purchased after November 14, 2018, because a worker in the facility tested positive for hepatitis A,” the FDA stated.
Anna Bauer, president of Bauer’s Candies, said in a statement that the employee who tested positive for the virus worked in the facility between Nov. 16 and Nov. 23 and that the company quickly recalled all the candy.
“Upon notification of his illness, Bauer’s voluntarily closed the facility, discarded all candy in house, sanitized per protocol, and began working with Federal and State agencies,” she wrote.
“An investigation by our local health department and the FDA found that the risk of contamination to the candy made during this time is extremely low. These agencies have cleared us to continue operation. No candy products manufactured after November 25 are affected in any way.”
Retailers should also toss the chocolate or caramel Modjeskas candy, federal officials said.
The candy was available at a number of retail locations and could also be purchased through Bauer’s website in addition to QVC, the website of the popular shopping channel.
While the candy could be contaminated with hepatitis A, federal officials said that they aren’t aware of any cases of the infection stemming from the candy. The FDA noted that hepatitis A can have a long incubation period.
Anyone who ate the candies in question and does not have a vaccination for hepatitis A should consult with a healthcare professional and consider getting post-exposure prophylaxis.
People with the hepatitis A vaccination don’t require the prophylaxis, the agency said.
Hepatitis A
Hepatitis A is a highly contagious liver infection caused by the hepatitis A virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“It can range from a mild illness lasting a few weeks to a severe illness lasting several months. Although rare, hepatitis A can cause death in some people. Hepatitis A usually spreads when a person unknowingly ingests the virus from objects, food, or drinks contaminated by small, undetected amounts of stool from an infected person,” the agency stated.
In the last full year that statistics were available for, 2016, there were an estimated 4,000 hepatitis A cases in the United States.
The virus typically spreads when someone ingests it from objects, food, or drinks, contaminated by small, undetected amounts of stool from an infected person, or from close personal contact with an infected person. Symptoms include fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, dark urine, clay-colored stools, and jaundice.
Hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C are all liver infections but they’re each caused by a different virus.
“Hepatitis A is usually a short-term infection and does not become chronic. Hepatitis B and hepatitis C can also begin as short-term, acute infections, but in some people, the virus remains in the body, resulting in chronic disease and long-term liver problems,” according to the CDC. “There are vaccines to prevent hepatitis A and hepatitis B; however, there is no vaccine for hepatitis C.”
