Why Are These Organic Blueberries Making Me Ill?

I eat a lot of blueberries. Blueberry season starts in July and I pick a freezer-full until the farm runs out. Yeah, I have a small freezer. If I had one of those monster freezers, I'd fill one of those. That's how much I love organic blueberries. High in antioxidants, fiber, and nutrients, I indulge and don't feel guilty one bit.

I'm spoiled living just minutes away from one of the best and most trustworthy organic farms in the whole state, if not the whole country. I've witnessed first hand their chickens fertilizing the bushes. I've watched how they grow their gardens and maintain their farm so I know they aren't pulling a fast one on their customers with less-than-honest claims and slipping in conventional, non-organic methods.

But with expectations of quality, it makes store-bought blueberries seem very substandard. They are smaller, with questionable taste and texture, and well, horribly expensive. The price for u-pick, fresh organic blueberries is $2.00 per pound. For store-bought, fresh, organic is about $5.00 per tiny container, and frozen, organic is about $6.00 per pound. So when I run out of berries in December, I'm at a loss. I think maybe I just need to stop eating so many? Take a break and wait it out until next July. That never works. I start craving them. So I do the next best thing and shop the frozen food aisle.

Costco, our local, cheap, big-box grocery warehouse, carries some organic foods. Last year I discovered they have frozen, organic blueberries so I supplemented my winter fruit intake with store-bought. They were good. Never as good as fresh or even freshly-picked frozen, but still good. They cost just over $8 for 3 pounds which is suspiciously cheap, but Costco is all about saving money so I didn't question it.

This year when I ran out of fresh, frozen, again, I bought some from Costco. They were weird. They were dark, almost black. Were they that black last year? When they are cooked they still hold their shape which is odd. The taste...good god, they tasted like someone injected perfume in them! Whew! At first I thought maybe this is just the flavor and it's another variety of blueberry? Maybe African blueberries or South American blueberries? Taiwanese blueberries?

Then I started feeling sick. At first I didn't connect it to the blueberries. Sometimes it was a bit of a headache. Sometimes neck pain. Sometimes nightmares. These are common side effects of a chemical exposure. I did a few food elimination tests and sure enough it's the blueberries. During the third test I was experiencing all the above side effects with nausea, joint pain, stomach pain and then my colon started slowing down to a crawl. Whoa! Was I eating these blueberries last year when my colon stopped working????

I check the label. Sometimes companies change the recipe so it's a good idea to review the label every so often. Ingredients: Organic Blueberries. CERTIFIED organic. So what am I to think? Do I trust the label of a big-box, money-making machine? Or do I trust my instincts knowing myself and knowing the symptoms I experience with chemical exposures? Why do they taste so strong? Are they truly organic? Or are the berries organic with added flavorings or chemicals not on the label? They definitely don't taste like the organic berries I've been eating non-stop for the past five months. They don't taste like any blueberry I've ever had in my life!! Why am I reacting this year and not last year?

The scary thing is we really have no control over what we eat. What is being done behind the scenes? How many rules are being broken in order to make a profit? How would we ever know? My body knows. These blueberries are making me sick regardless of the reason.

I returned them to Costco. Costco is known for its very liberal return policy, but I know if one returns too much they will revoke your membership assuming you are not happy with their products which assumes the membership is not of value. I don't think I've ever returned anything, but I don't buy much especially in terms of food. Most of the food is not organic. The fresh organic produce is in large cases so for a single person unless I freeze it or can it which contradicts the whole concept of "fresh", it would go to waste. I normally don't trust big-box. Even when they say it's organic, one should take that with a grain of salt. My experience in the grocery industry taught me that.

The woman at the returns counter didn't seem very happy when I presented my cooler packed with ice and a bag of blueberries. She whispered something to the woman next to her which I thought was rude, but I think she just asked if it was returnable. She doesn't know about her own employer's very liberal return policy reputation? I thought everyone in the world knew.

"Was there a problem with the product?"

"I think there is. These don't taste like blueberries and they made me very sick."

She mumbled something under her breath. I said loudly, "Excuse me?"

"I've never heard that before." Bitch.

"Well, I considered just throwing it all away, but someone needs to know there might be a problem with this product." I wanted to scream THESE FUCKING ORGANIC BERRIES ARE ANYTHING BUT, however, I really have no proof of anything only my symptoms. I find in these situations it's best to maintain a level of sanity.

She didn't respond.

She gave me my money back for the one bag ignoring the receipt that clearly states I bought two bags. The second bag was the one I ate from so I didn't bring it in for return, but you'd think she'd ask about it. Customer service sucks at Costco.

So I'm writing this blog post just in case someone else out there had a problem with Kirkland Signature Organic Blueberries. I looked online. Found all kinds of Costco products that have been recalled, but nothing on the blueberries. Of course, my inclination is to assume I am the ONLY PERSON IN THE WORLD with these reactions, but I have become very aware over the years there are thousands of chemically sensitive people out there with experiences just like mine and many of you, like me, can only tolerate organic food. If anyone has had a similar experience with this brand and these blueberries, let me know!

I decided to do one more test...buy frozen blueberries at my local co-op. They are beyond reproach and incredibly trustworthy. If their blueberries taste like perfume and make me sick, I'll conclude it's just me...maybe I am the only one reacting badly to blueberries! I purchased a one pound frozen bag of blueberries grown and packaged by Stahlbush Island Farms. They were $5.00 or twice as much as the Costco berries. The co-op no longer sells frozen bulk blueberries. After too many bad experiences I hesitated. I really didn't want to eat them, but felt obligated. No reaction, no illness. They were fine.