UK Researchers Tackle Knowledge Gap on Norovirus

A new study is set to improve understanding of how food processing and handling can reduce the spread of noroviruses, one of the most common causes of gastroenteritis.

Norovirus is highly contagious and can be spread through human contact. But it can also be spread from the environment to food. While the disease results in fewer hospitalizations than some foodborne bacteria such as Salmonella, it is much more common and can cause serious illness.

It is difficult to assess how much food is contaminated with the virus although estimates suggest between 6-20 percent of norovirus outbreaks may be attributed to food. In one case, five norovirus outbreaks affecting several hundred people in Denmark in 2005 were traced to a single batch of contaminated frozen raspberries.

However viruses tend to be less well-researched than other food pathogens.
A major new $1.6 million research project, part sponsored by the UK's Department of Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) with backing from food companies, is aiming to understand how well norovirus survives food processing.

"How well the viruses survive food processing is not well-known because you can't grow them in culture outside of its human host," said Dr Angus Knight, manager of the research project at Leatherhead Food.

Read the full FoodProducitonDaily.com story here.