Effects of electron beam irradiation on murine norovirus-1 in abalone (Haliotis discus hannai) meat and viscera

Abstract

Many shellfish-borne viral outbreaks have been reported in East Asia, where abalone is predominantly eaten raw. This study investigated the effects of electron beam (e-beam) irradiation (1–10 kGy) on the inactivation of murine norovirus-1 (MNV-1), as a surrogate of human norovirus (NoV). The cell culture lysate of MNV-1 and abalone meat and viscera were irradiated with e-beam (1, 3, 5, 7, and 10 kGy). The titer of MNV-1 significantly (p < 0.05) decreased by 0.38–2.18, 0.31–1.45 and 0.41–1.56 log10 PFU/mL in the suspension, abalone meat, and abalone viscera, respectively, as the dose of e-beam irradiation increased. However, all Hunter colors, five sensory attributes and four textures parameter not significantly (p > 0.05) different in abalone after e-beam irradiation. D-values were calculated using first-order model and corresponded to 3.92, 6.26, and 5.23 kGy in the suspension, abalone meat, and abalone viscera, respectively. There were no significant changes in food qualities of pH, moisture contents and TBARS levels. Thus, e-beam can be used as an effective and useful non-thermal treatment to reduce MNV-1 in abalone. We suggest using a dose of e-beam irradiation >6.26 kGy to achieve 90% log10 reduction of MNV-1 in abalone without deleterious changes of food qualities.