Survival of hepatitis A virus on various food-contact surfaces during 28 days of storage at room temperature

Abstract

Hepatitis A virus (HAV) infections constitute one of the leading causes of food-borne disease outbreaks. HAV spreads readily from one infected person to another through contaminated water or food, via the fecal–oral route. The prevention of HAV infection is therefore important in the preparation of food. The objective of this study was to investigate the survival of HAV on six different food-contact surfaces: ceramic, wood, rubber, glass, stainless steel and plastic. The survival of HAV was measured during storage at room temperature for 28days. On the food-contact surfaces, the greatest reduction in HAV was 2.3log10plaque-forming units (PFU)/coupon, observed on stainless steel, while the lowest HAV reduction was 1.4log10PFU/coupon, observed on wood. The values of dR (time required to reduce the virus by 99%) on survival plots of HAV determined by a modified Weibull model were 1396.9h (R2=0.97) on ceramic, 1676.4h (R2=0.98) on wood, 852.7h on rubber (R2=0.95), 1386.4h (R2=0.97) on glass, 428.6h (R2=0.96) on stainless steel and 833.0h (R2=0.97) on plastic. The infectivity of the virus on all six food-contact surfaces was maintained after 28days. Studies show that HAV from food preparation or processing will survive persistently on cookware. This study provides information useful for the control of HAV on different food-contact surfaces and the prevention of food-borne disease.