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.