![\"KenWiedemann](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/men_s_journal_718\/a364068aaea5dc998c72247097eb689e.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\nA South Florida couple has filed a lawsuit against Publix after claiming that frozen blueberries sold under the grocery chain’s GreenWise brand caused an E. coli infection that left both of them ill and sent one of them to the hospital for days.<\/p>\n
According to the Orlando Sentinel, the lawsuit was filed in Palm Beach County Circuit Court by food safety attorneys from Ron Simon & Associates and Elizabeth Zwibel Law on behalf of Oscar and Roberta Cash.<\/p>\n
The complaint alleges the couple purchased GreenWise Organic IQF frozen blueberries from a Publix store in Jupiter, Florida, in May 2026 and consumed the product as part of their diet before both developed symptoms linked to E. coli infection.<\/p>\n
The lawsuit seeks damages from Publix, claiming the retailer sold a product that was not safe for consumers and failed to prevent contaminated food from reaching store shelves. The filing includes claims of negligence, strict liability, and breach of implied warranties. They’re reportedly suing for over $100,000.<\/p>\n
Hospitalization Followed Illness<\/p>\n
KenWiedemann / Getty Images<\/p>\n
Court documents reportedly state that Oscar and Roberta Cash experienced bloody diarrhea, stomach cramps, dehydration, fever, and abdominal pain after eating the frozen blueberries. While Oscar recovered with less intensive treatment, Roberta, who is 88 years old, suffered a more severe illness.<\/p>\n
According to the complaint, she spent 10 days at Jupiter Medical Center before being transferred to a nursing facility, where she remained for nearly three more weeks. She continues to receive medical care following the infection. Attorneys representing the couple say laboratory testing confirmed she had contracted E. coli O145:H28.<\/p>\n
The lawsuit also alleges that the bacteria survived because freezing does not eliminate this strain of E. coli, making contaminated frozen fruit capable of causing illness when consumed.<\/p>\n
Recall and Federal Investigation<\/p>\n
The legal action<\/a> follows a recall announced on July 3 by Chile-based supplier Frutas y Hortalizas del Sur S.A. involving 10-ounce bags of GreenWise Organic IQF Blueberries carrying Lot Code 60401 and a Best By date of February 9, 2028. The recalled product was distributed exclusively through Publix stores in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.<\/p>\n According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the recalled blueberries have been linked to a multistate outbreak involving at least 12 confirmed E. coli cases, including 11 in Florida and one in Georgia.<\/p>\n Four people required hospitalization, and investigators traced the illnesses to the recalled frozen blueberries. Consumers have been advised not to eat the affected product and to either discard it or return it to Publix for a refund.<\/p>\n The lawsuit is believed to be the first legal action filed in connection with the blueberry outbreak and could become an early test of how responsibility for the contamination is divided between the retailer and its supplier as federal investigators continue examining the source of the outbreak.<\/p>\n This story was originally published by Men’s Journal<\/a> on Jul 15, 2026, where it first appeared in the Health<\/a> section. Add Men’s Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A South Florida couple has filed a lawsuit against Publix after claiming that frozen blueberries sold under the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":341561,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[140286,140287,140288,28,30,29,20254,16741,140284,2231,140285,140289,807],"class_list":["post-341560","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-contaminated-food","tag-e-coli-infection","tag-elizabeth-zwibel-law","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-jupiter","tag-orlando-sentinel","tag-palm-beach-county-circuit-court","tag-publix","tag-roberta-cash","tag-ron-simon-associates","tag-south-florida"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341560","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=341560"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341560\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/341561"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=341560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=341560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=341560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}