The local resident is among six Australians who have been diagnosed with a unique strain of the viral infection, after consuming Creative Gourmet’s frozen pomegranate from Coles. A further three cases are being tested for the unique genome 1B.

There’s been a “precautionary recall” of a small batch of the imported product with best-before dates up to and including March 21, 2020.

The NSW Food Authority is working with the supplier, NSW Health and other state and federal agencies on the investigation. Authorities stress the suspect frozen product is imported – fresh pomegranate has not been implicated, nor have Australian grown frozen pomegranate products.

However Mr Scully has joined Labor’s health spokesman Walt Secord in calling for a “shake-up” within the Department of Primary Industries – particularly in regard to its response to food contaminations.

“We think it would be better if the NSW Food Authority was made into an independent body which reported directly to the Primary Industries Minister rather than through the bureaucracy,” he said.

“We’ve had the listeria outbreak caused by rockmelons this year and now hepatitis A linked to pomegranate. We think if you cut out a couple of steps, the flow of information can be improved and the public can be alerted sooner.”

However NSW Health Director of Communicable Diseases Dr Vicky Sheppeard said the department issued a warning “within hours” of learning that several patients had all eaten the product before becoming ill.

“All cases of hepatitis A are notifiable to NSW Health but it is only when a link can be established between two cases does it signal the possibility of a wider public health issue in the community,” she said.

“People fall ill from hepatitis A every year, and like other notifiable diseases including listeriosis and salmonellosis, it is when a link can be identified with other cases that there is cause for much wider concern.”

Dr Sheppeard said upon any notification, public health unit staff immediately sought to interview patients about the food they had consumed up to seven weeks prior to becoming unwell, to narrow the source of infection.

She said symptoms of hepatitis A included nausea, vomiting, fever, yellowing of the skin, dark urine and pale stools. Symptoms could take up to seven weeks to become apparent and anyone with them should see their GP.

“Unvaccinated people who consumed the product in the past two weeks may benefit from hepatitis A vaccination,” Dr Sheppeard said.

“For most people the symptoms cease after a few weeks if they rest and drink plenty of fluids.”

However Mr Scully added: “Hepatitis A can cause permanent liver damage so if you have any of the product in your freezer, either throw it away or take it to the supermarket for a refund. It’s better to be safe than sorry.”

Full details of the recall are available on the Food Standards Australia New Zealand website.