《TAIPEI TIMES》 Costco presents berry compensation plan

FALLING SICK: The retailer proposed paying the full medical bill of any member diagnosed with hepatitis A that could be traced to the contaminated products

/ Staff writer, with CNA

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Costco Taiwan yesterday presented a plan to compensate customers who had purchased frozen mixed berry products that were later found to be contaminated with the hepatitis A virus.

Costco members who bought the frozen berries at its Kaohsiung warehouse would be offered a full refund plus compensation equivalent to the refund amount, the Kaohsiung Department of Administrative and International Affairs, quoting Costco, said in a statement.

Costco is also to offer a subsidy of NT$500 （US$16.27） to any members who after consulting a doctor at healthcare facilities designated by the Centers for Disease Control （CDC） undergo an immunoglobulin test for hepatitis A, the department said.

In addition, Costco is to pay the full medical bill of any member diagnosed with hepatitis A that could be traced to the contaminated berry products, which were sold under Costco’s Kirkland Signature brand, the department said.

The US last month reported that five people tested positive for hepatitis A, likely due to consuming store-bought frozen berries, after which a number of brands recalled their products from retailers.

On April 11, the department asked Costco to remove frozen berries from its shelves as a preventive measure, and began sample inspections on five brands of frozen berry products.

On April 28, after tests on the Kirkland Signature Three Berry Blend imported from Chile were positive for the hepatitis A virus, the department ordered the product to be removed and destroyed.

On Tuesday last week, Kaohsiung consumer protection officers summoned Costco managers to city hall and told the company to present a compensation plan by Tuesday last week, which must include medical expenses and other related costs incurred by consumers of the berries, the statement issued yesterday said.

The company has since been fined NT$7.5 million, the Kaohsiung City Government said.

As of yesterday, 39,129.59kg of Costo’s frozen berries had been recalled, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said.

Meanwhile, the Kaohsiung Consumer Protection Office said it had received nine cases related to the contaminated berry products.

Commenting on the issue, Food and Drug Administration （FDA） Director Wu Shou-mei （吳秀梅） said the agency had received a report from Costco about the matter, but the information was insufficient.

For example, there was no information about health checks for Costco personnel or improvements in the company’s Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point system, which is a scientific and systematic approach to identify, assess and control food hazards, Wu said.

The FDA has asked Costco to provide supplementary documentation within two weeks, she said.

Additional reporting by Hsu Li-chuan

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES