Barf happens, and the newly converted are quick to cite lessons learned, but the challenge remains – how to get people to pay attention before the outbreak happens?

The Vancouver Sun reports the final two dozen university conference delegates left Victoria on Tuesday after days of battling a painful norovirus outbreak that is believed to have infected about 75 people.

About 370 delegates arrived in the city for a national Canadian University Press conference on Jan. 11.

The journalism convention quickly made national headlines on Sunday morning after the virus rapidly spread throughout the Harbour Towers Hotel and Suites where they all stayed.

Those who were not infected — and some who were — made their way home Sunday, while the rest stayed an extra night or two waiting for their symptoms of vomiting, severe stomach pains and diarrhea to pass.

A shuttle bus took about 13 delegates to the Victoria Airport Tuesday morning with another five or six following them in the afternoon, according to university press staff.

Some students were reporting getting sick during their travels home and some even after they arrived. But with the worst behind them, delegates got back to classes and work.

“If anything, this entire conference, this entire situation, has been a lesson for us in terms of crisis communication,” said Emma Godmere, the CUP national bureau chief, who became a co-ordinator of all communication as information was sent out via Twitter.

An E. coli outbreak at a Surrey, B.C. (that’s in Canada) seniors' home last month sent three people to hospital, one of whom later died.

But a spokesman for the Fraser Health Authority said Thursday it's not known whether the person died as a result of the outbreak, which is believed to have been linked to a shared meal.

Roy Thorpe-Dorward said twice a week the 257 residents at Kiwanis Park Place get together for a meal in the independent living facility. But after one such meal, believed to have been served between Nov. 8 and 14, three of the seniors became ill.

He said Fraser Health had found no problems with the home's meal service during regular inspections.

"It's thought to be linked to food preparation, either improper handling of food, inadequate cooking or improper cleaning of food surfaces," he said.

The two others who fell ill have recovered.
 

Who can’t get enough watermelon jelly.

The British Columbia Centre for Disease Control (that’s in Canada) is warning the public not to consume watermelon jelly prepared by Jamnation Fine Foods that were sold in 120 ml sized jars. This jelly was sold at charity booths in various locations in British Columbia in 2010. This product may be contaminated with Clostridium botulinum. Toxins produced by this bacterium may cause botulism, a life-threatening illness.

“This recall was prompted by a suspect case of botulism on Vancouver Island, and the subsequent investigation of foods recently consumed by the individual,” explains Dr. Eleni Galanis, Physician Epidemiologist with BCCDC, an agency of the Provincial Health Services Authority. “Botulism is a serious illness, and it is critical that anyone who purchased this item discard it immediately.”

“The jelly consumed by the case was sold through the British Columbia Huntingtons Research Foundation charity booths in Duncan, and may also have been sold in other parts of province,” explains Sion Shyng, Food Safety Specialist at the BCCDC. “We’re concerned that this product may still be in the homes of consumers as jellies can be stored and consumed long after they are purchased.”

The BCCDC is currently working with BC Health Authorities and the BC Ministry of Health Services to ensure the recalled product is removed from distribution and is investigating any possible cases of illness.

After an investigation revealed a B.C. grocery store changing the best-before date on fish, former Superstore employees have come forward to claim that it wasn't the first time this happened.

CTV News reports that former Langley Superstore employee Sylvia Taylor claims that changing best-before dates isn't something new for the grocery chain. She worked in the deli department during the 1990s.

"Part of our duties, as directed by our manager, was to check our meat packages in the display cases for their best-before dates. If they were expired, we were to pull the meats, open up the packages, smell them, and if they smelled okay, we re-wrapped them and put a new best-before date, extending usually by about five days. When we were told to change the best-before dates, I stopped buying any meat products from the Real Canadian Superstore."

Jason Paxton claims he had a similar experience when he worked in the seafood department at the Duncan Superstore.

"Every time the meat was re-packed, the best-before date was changed. The majority of it we could wash off, re-package it and get a couple of more days out of it."

Paxton says he has since told his friends not to shop at Superstore.

Ken Randa of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency says there are no laws against changing the best-before dates on packaged food, adding,

"If they change the best-before date, there may not be anything wrong with it, and maybe no legislative issue with us. Ultimately, they have to answer to you, the consumer.”

Superstore says employee are not allowed to change best-before dates and are required to sign a policy stating as much when they're hired. The store says they're also required to review and re-sign on a regular basis.

Uh-huh.