5 sick with E. coli O157 at Kamloops, British Columbia, school

The Kamloops Daily News reports Interior Health officials are investigating the cause of an E. coli outbreak at South Kamloops secondary that sickened four students and one employee.

Medical health officer Dr. Rob Parker said,

“As far as I know, they’re all recovering. One student was briefly hospitalized but is on the mend now.”

The local cases occurred between April 25 and 29. Parker said it can take three or four days to get sick after exposure, and people often take a few days before seeing a doctor. Getting samples to the lab can tack a few more days onto that.

Parents were notified about the outbreak in a newsletter that went out Wednesday.

Company will increase testing after caught with listeria-cheese

Every time a company gets caught with their fingers in the food safety cookie jar, they make pledges to improve food safety procedures. What planet were they living on before? Had they never heard of outbreaks involving similar products? Taking preventative actions? Not making their customers barf?

I’ll stop looking at the world through beer goggles.

CTV News reports a small, organic cheese maker on B.C.’s Saltspring Island is continuing production after a big product recall this week, but with stricter safety measures in place.

Three varieties of Camembert manufactured by Moonstruck Organic Cheese were recalled Monday, after the B.C. Centre for Disease Control discovered the listeria bacteria in one wheel of cheese.

Moonstruck cheesemaker Julia Grace told CTV News that the company has vowed to bump up its safety procedures, and all cheese is now being independently tested before sale.

"It’s going to be a shake up but it’s going to make us a stronger company. Once you’ve had an experience like this, you tighten up your measures more ferociously just to make sure this never happens again," she said.