I loves me the frozen berries; they’re a mainstay of my diet, along with all the fresh berries I can plant, buy and consume.

Maybe the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) has hepatitis A on its mind, what with the employee at a Victoria retailer testing positive earily this week, but the public is now being warned not to consume Pomeberry Blend frozen berries manufactured by Western Family because it may be linked to the hepatitis A virus.

The BCCDC and regional health authorities are investigating eight cases of hepatitis A that have occurred over the past two months in BC. Five out of eight of these cases are known to have consumed the Pomeberry product and an investigation is ongoing. This product has been distributed through Save-On-Foods and Overwaitea.

While there is no direct link yet, as a precaution, anyone who has the Pomeberry Blend product in their refrigerator or freezer is advised not to consume it, and to discard it. This blend contains frozen pomegranate seeds, blueberries, strawberries and cherries. No other frozen berry products from Western Family are a concern at this time.

This is a precautionary alert as the investigation continues and more information should be available next week. There is currently no recommendation for people who have consumed the product to receive vaccine since the overall risk to the public is very low. This will be reassessed as further information becomes available.

Tuscaloosa News reports customers who ate at the McDonald's in Northport on McFarland Boulevard between Feb. 28 and March 14 may have been exposed to hepatitis A, according to the Alabama Department of Public Health.

Customers who visited the restaurant on March 14 or during breakfast hours on March 16 are asked to contact their health-care provider as soon as possible to receive a hepatitis A vaccine, because an infected employee may have spread the virus.

“Hepatitis A vaccine and immune globulin can prevent hepatitis A virus infection, but only when given within 14 days of exposure,” said Dr. Donald Williamson, state health officer.

That means that anyone who ate at the restaurant on those dates should receive treatment no later than Friday. People previously vaccinated for hepatitis A are considered protected from the virus.

Sorenne will not be going to the Brisbane Grammar School for grades 6-12. It’s not the $20,000 a year in tuition, another $20,000 a year for boarding, the $400 for the privilege of applying or that it’s an all-boys school.

I have problems when a school with such a fee structure – or any school -- relies on volunteers to run the tuckshop that offers breakfast and lunch, and when a volunteer contracts hepatitis A, the best the school can come up with is, the canteen abides by the proper standards and, “Full food-handling protocol is followed in the school.''

I don’t know what full food-handling protocol is, but some details would be nice. Maybe even a vaccination requirement for all volunteers.

The Courier Mail reports the school told its community by letter on Tuesday, on the urging of public health authorities, that they were under a low-level risk of Hepatitis A.

"We were told a volunteer worker had subsequently been diagnosed with Hep A after she had worked at the canteen,'' said a spokeswoman.

"The public health authority spoke to the worker, figured out what she did and when they found out it involved food, as a precautionary measure asked the school to advise everyone. The risk is deemed to be extremely low."

While assuring the public that there is no evidence of an outbreak, the Central District Health Department is alerting the public that an employee of the Cheesecake Factory on North Milwuakee Road in Boise, Idaho, was infected with the hepatitis A virus, but is no longer infectious.

CDHD is alerting patrons who may have dined at the restaurant between Dec. 13, 2011, and Jan. 22, 2012, that they may have been exposed to hepatitis A. If a person has had a hepatitits A vaccine or have had the illness in the past, the CDHD said they are protected from the infection.

"The risk to the public health is extremely low because the employee was not involved in food preparation," said a statement from CDHD. "Still, there is the possibility that patrons could have been exposed to hepatitis A."

The Cheesecake Factory has fully cooperated with the investigation into the situation. The employee is believed to have practiced good hand hygiene. The risk of exposure is considered very small, but not zero.