The Walmart Great Value berry recall tied to an ongoing E. coli outbreak expanded on 2 September, pulling one lot of Great Value Organic Triple Berry Blend from freezer sections across 16 states. The broader outbreak has now sickened 17 people, with six requiring hospitalisation, according to TODAY, updating figures that stood at 12 cases when the investigation began.
The affected product is a 10-ounce bag containing strawberries, blackberries and blueberries, carrying UPC 7874211226, lot code 6040 01-6 and a best-by date of 9 February 2028. Bags from that specific lot were shipped to select Walmart stores in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas and Wisconsin. No illnesses have been linked to the Great Value product itself.
Who Is Behind the Walmart Great Value Berry Recall?
The recall was initiated by the producer Frutas y Hortalizas del Sur S.A., a firm based in San Carlos, Chile, according to the FDA. The company first came under scrutiny in early July, when Publix recalled its GreenWise Organic Whole Blueberries and Whole Mixed Berries over potential E. coli contamination traced to the same supplier. The FDA subsequently classified the Publix recall as Class I, its most serious category, used when there is a reasonable probability that exposure could cause serious health consequences or death. The Great Value lot has not yet received that classification.
The agency moved to examine the Chilean operation directly. Quality Assurance Magazine reports that the FDA conducted a remote inspection of the Frutas y Hortalizas del Sur S.A. facility in San Carlos and collected records from the firm to better understand its procedures and hazard controls for preventing contamination. That inspection is part of the wider investigation into how the pathogen entered the supply chain.
The Scale of the E. Coli Outbreak So Far
The strain at the centre of the investigation is E. coli O145:H28, a Shiga toxin-producing variant. Cases in Florida and Georgia are the focus of the outbreak, and the FDA has confirmed that 12 of those cases had illness onsets between 11 May 2026 and 5 June 2026. The total case count has since risen to 17, with six hospitalisations recorded and no deaths reported as of 3 September 2026.
E. coli O145 can cause severe stomach cramps, diarrhoea (which may be bloody) and vomiting. Most healthy people recover within about a week. In some cases, however, infection can develop into hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a serious complication that carries particular risk for young children, older adults and people with weakened immune systems.
The Walmart Great Value berry recall affects a contained lot, and no illnesses have been tied to it specifically. Even so, the FDA’s guidance is clear: consumers who have the affected bags in their freezer should not eat the berries. They should either discard the product or return it to Walmart for a full refund. The lot code 6040 01-6 and the 9 February 2028 best-by date are the identifiers to check.
With the FDA’s remote inspection of the San Carlos facility still feeding into the investigation, and the case count across Florida and Georgia now at 17 confirmed infections and six hospitalisations, the Walmart Great Value berry recall is the latest development in an outbreak that has widened steadily since May.