Nanna's berries are packed in China and distributed in Australia by Patties Foods, a company based in Bairnsdale. Patties Foods has announced it is undertaking a nation-wide recall of the mixed berries with a best-before date up to and including November 11, 2016. The company has advised consumers not to eat the product and return packs to the place of purchase for a full cash refund. "A detailed testing process has commenced in conjunction with health authorities," a statement from the company read. "Patties Foods advises the voluntary recall is in the interests of consumer safety and that the health and wellbeing of consumers is paramount."

Furious customers have complained about the lack of information available to them about what they should do if they have bought the product and where to submit claims for medical tests or seek refunds. One customer contacting Fairfax Media said he tried to call Patties Foods all morning but there was no answer. "This beggars belief. A major health scare and Patties has gone home! If no one else us available, the CEO should man the phones," he said. "While Patties may be spreading the word through the press, this does not abrogate their responsibilities, including at law, to take all reasonable steps themselves to inform and assist affected customers." Another customer, Miles Carlier, said he ate the berries two weeks ago and has been presenting worrying symptoms.

"I have lost over 5kg due to constant nausea, loss of appetite, fevers and abdominal pain. I have spent over $100 on doctors appointments and medication to stop the vomiting and now have to go back to the doctors to be tested for Hepatitis A," he wrote on the Nanna's Facebook page. "A refund for the product is not good enough! You have endangered the health, safety and well-being of me, my family and countless other people! You should be ashamed of yourselves!" A customer hotline was posted on the Nanna's Facebook page at about 2:30pm and customers were informed the phone would be manned until 9pm. It will also be active from 7am tomorrow. Victoria's Chief Health Officer Dr Rosemary Lester said the virus was usually associated with overseas travel. "The only common link between the cases is consumption of this product – there is no overseas travel or common restaurant exposure," she said.

"Sampling of the product will be undertaken to identify the virus, but it is difficult to find hepatitis A virus even in a contaminated batch." Senior media advisor at the health department Bram Alexander urged Victorians with the berries in their freezer to throw them out, as they may be tainted. "We want people to look in their freezers and if they have this product, discard it. The broader recall with the company's assistance is to ensure the product is withdrawn from shelves," he said. Mr Alexander said the virus was likely to have originated in China but this would be difficult to prove. "We probably won't find the origin in any of the samples we are testing, but we know that we have got people who are ill and that makes us highly suspicious of the product," he said.

It can take between 15 and 50 days for Hepatitis A symptoms to show. Symptoms include diarrhoea, fatigue, fever, abdominal pain and vomiting. The recall follows another recent announcement that a chocolate mousse product would be removed from Victorian hospitals as it was found to have contained listeria. The mousses were consumed between January 29 and February 10 and had a use-by date of February 14, 2015. They were supplied to the Austin Hospital, St Vincent's Private, St Vincent's Mercy, Brunswick Private, the Royal Children's Hospital, Ballarat Health Services, Caulfield Hospital, Sandringham Hospital, Frankston Hospital and Rosebud Hospital. No cases of listeria have been reported and the risk of infection is low, but patients have been informed about the symptoms and told to alert medical staff if signs of infection show.

The Patties Foods customer hotline is: 1800 650 069