Poor sanitation in the packing facility, dirty hygiene among Chinese workers as well as potentially contaminated water supplies in China are being pinpointed by sanitation authorities as the culprit in the outbreak of Hepatitis A in Australia believed to be linked to imported frozen berries.

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China has recalled Nanna's frozen mixed berries from Australian markets after nine people became sick with hepatitis A after eating the one-kilogram bag of imported berries.

Nine people--four in Queensland, three in Victoria and two in New South Wales--were downed with Hepatitis A, prompting the national recall of the product.

China has also extended its recall on 300 and 500 gram packets of Creative Gourmet mixed berries as the products were packaged in the same plant as the Nanna's berries.

Reports from the Australian health department said the berries, which were grown in China and Chile, have been repackaged by Patties Foods in Bernsdail in Victoria.

Patties Foods reportedly started accepting washed and packaged imported berries from their supplier's facility in Shandong, China.

Australia's health department has reportedly confirmed that the contamination had been traced back to China's packaging factory in Shandong after thorough investigation.

Dr. Finn Romanes of Australia's Department of Health and Human Services said it was highly likely that the contamination happened in China's factories as Hepatitis A was endemic in the region.

He said  it was possible that Chinese workers with Hepatitis A were involved in the packaging of the berry products in the Shandong packaging plant which was the cause of the contamination.

"Clearly there's strong evidence that there may have been a contamination during the packing process as they are fully sealed and then transported to Australia," he said.

Hepatitis A is a disease caused by a virus that attacks the liver resulting in jaundice and vomiting by a person infected with it.

Romanes said Hepatitis A spreads when an uninfected person eats food and drinks water that have been contaminated with feces of an infected person. 

TagsNanna's Berries, Hepatitis A, shandong, Recall, Contamination