Effectiveness of Consumers Washing with Sanitizers to Reduce Human Norovirus on Mixed Salad.

Anfruns-Estrada Anfruns-Estrada,Bosch Bosch,Bottaro Bottaro,Guix Guix,Pintó Pintó

doi:10.3390/foods8120637

Anfruns-Estrada Anfruns-Estrada, Bosch Bosch + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/foods8120637

Copy DOI

Abstract

Human norovirus (HuNoV) is a foremost cause of domestically acquired foodborne acute gastroenteritis and outbreaks. Despite industrial efforts to control HuNoV contamination of foods, its prevalence in foodstuffs at retail is significant. HuNoV infections are often associated with the consumption of contaminated produce, including ready-to-eat (RTE) salads. Decontamination of produce by washing with disinfectants is a consumer habit which could significantly contribute to mitigate the risk of infection. The aim of our study was to measure the effectiveness of chemical sanitizers in inactivating genogroup I and II HuNoV strains on mixed salads using a propidium monoazide (PMAxx)-viability RTqPCR assay. Addition of sodium hypochlorite, peracetic acid, or chlorine dioxide significantly enhanced viral removal as compared with water alone. Peracetic acid provided the highest effectiveness, with log10 reductions on virus levels of 3.66 ± 0.40 and 3.33 ± 0.19 for genogroup I and II, respectively. Chlorine dioxide showed lower disinfection efficiency. Our results provide information useful to the food industry and final consumers for improving the microbiological safety of fresh products in relation to foodborne viruses.

Highlights

Human noroviruses (HuNoVs), members of the family Caliciviridae, are recognized as a leading cause of outbreaks of acute viral gastroenteritis and foodborne illness worldwide, affecting all age groups
Stool specimens positive for HuNoV genogroup I (GI) and genogroup II (GII) were obtained from patients with gastroenteritis from outbreaks declared to the Public Health Agency of Catalonia
A 10 min washing step with tap water alone reduced viral titers for both HuNoV GI and GII by 1.08 ± 0.25 and and peracetic acid (PAA) showed the highest removal efficiencies, which were similar for both genogroups, adding approximately 2 log10 inactivation in all cases as compared with water

Summary

Introduction

Human noroviruses (HuNoVs), members of the family Caliciviridae, are recognized as a leading cause of outbreaks of acute viral gastroenteritis and foodborne illness worldwide, affecting all age groups. The fecal–oral route is the main mode of transmission, several other modalities have been described These modalities include transmission via aerosolized viral particles in vomitus, environmental contamination, and through food and water, shellfish, soft fruit, and vegetables [3,4]. Fresh produce such as leafy greens and fruits contaminated with HuNoV have become increasingly recognized as potential vehicles of HuNoV transmission; being increasingly reported as a causative agent in a high proportion of outbreaks in many parts of the world in the last years [5,6,7]. HuNoV was reported in 29% of all alerts reported in the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF; https://ec.europa.eu/food/safety/rasff_en) system in 2017 on fruits and vegetables

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion