The FDA is warning customers that a candy they purchased from QVC might be contaminated with Hepatitis A.
The issue pertains to Bauer’s Candies’ famous Modjeskas, which are individually-wrapped marshmallow candies that have been either dipped in chocolate or caramel. A facility worker where the candy is made recently tested positive for Hepatitis A, a contagious liver disease. The candies were sold exclusively online and through QVC.
Symptoms of the disease include “fever, headache, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, yellowing of the skin or eyes (known as jaundice), dark urine, and pale stool,” says the FDA. Symptoms can take up to 50 days to appear.
In a statement, the President of Bauer’s Candies said that it voluntarily closed its facility and “discarded all candy in house, sanitized per protocol, and began working with Federal and State agencies” when it learned of the employee’s illness.
The employee worked at the plant from November 16-November 23rd. While the risk of contamination is extremely low, the FDA is recommending that anyone who purchased the candies after November 14th throw them away rather than consuming them.