Risk assessment of enteric viruses along the food chain and in the population

Abstract Food‐borne microbial illness contributes up to one third of global disease burden. The largest category of food‐borne illness is gastroenteritis, the majority of which is caused by enteric viruses. Viruses like these are transmitted to food either by waste‐contaminated waters, or by handlin...

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Main Authors: Monika Trząskowska, Kevin Hunt, David Rodríguez‐Lázaro
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2022-12-01
Series:EFSA Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2022.e200918
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author Monika Trząskowska
Kevin Hunt
David Rodríguez‐Lázaro
author_facet Monika Trząskowska
Kevin Hunt
David Rodríguez‐Lázaro
author_sort Monika Trząskowska
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Food‐borne microbial illness contributes up to one third of global disease burden. The largest category of food‐borne illness is gastroenteritis, the majority of which is caused by enteric viruses. Viruses like these are transmitted to food either by waste‐contaminated waters, or by handling and transfer during processing. An important tool for reducing or controlling food‐borne microbial risk is risk analysis. This framework has been adopted globally to manage risks associated with microbial contamination in food. Several hundred microbial risk assessments (MRAs) have been published by different national and international organisations, for different food‐hazard combinations. The use of MRAs in controlling and understanding virus risk has, to date, been limited, compared with the efforts made on bacterial pathogens. Given the large disease burden that viruses are responsible for, this disparity should be addressed. The main reasons for the relative lack of risk assessments are the difficulty in detecting and monitoring viruses compared with bacteria. This means less data on prevalence, concentration and inactivation, and allows viruses to remain silent contributors to global disease. There are also key conceptual differences between virus risk assessment and bacterial risk assessment. This project aimed to assess the current state of the art for food‐borne virus risk assessment, then to progress the field further by using the data available to produce risk rankings and risk assessments. This was done by a combination of literature reviewing and various risk assessment tools. The result was an assessment of the overall evidence base in the literature, a semi‐quantitative ranking comparison between the viruses and foods of most concern, and a survey of inactivation methods, leading to a quantitative ranking of the effectiveness of each in reducing and managing food‐borne virus risk.
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spelling doaj.art-25141940ea204d13855604a8e754f3742023-01-05T11:35:36ZengWileyEFSA Journal1831-47322022-12-0120S2n/an/a10.2903/j.efsa.2022.e200918Risk assessment of enteric viruses along the food chain and in the populationMonika Trząskowska0Kevin Hunt1David Rodríguez‐Lázaro2Division of Microbiology, Department of Biotechnology and Food Science University of Burgos Burgos SpainDivision of Microbiology, Department of Biotechnology and Food Science University of Burgos Burgos SpainDivision of Microbiology, Department of Biotechnology and Food Science University of Burgos Burgos SpainAbstract Food‐borne microbial illness contributes up to one third of global disease burden. The largest category of food‐borne illness is gastroenteritis, the majority of which is caused by enteric viruses. Viruses like these are transmitted to food either by waste‐contaminated waters, or by handling and transfer during processing. An important tool for reducing or controlling food‐borne microbial risk is risk analysis. This framework has been adopted globally to manage risks associated with microbial contamination in food. Several hundred microbial risk assessments (MRAs) have been published by different national and international organisations, for different food‐hazard combinations. The use of MRAs in controlling and understanding virus risk has, to date, been limited, compared with the efforts made on bacterial pathogens. Given the large disease burden that viruses are responsible for, this disparity should be addressed. The main reasons for the relative lack of risk assessments are the difficulty in detecting and monitoring viruses compared with bacteria. This means less data on prevalence, concentration and inactivation, and allows viruses to remain silent contributors to global disease. There are also key conceptual differences between virus risk assessment and bacterial risk assessment. This project aimed to assess the current state of the art for food‐borne virus risk assessment, then to progress the field further by using the data available to produce risk rankings and risk assessments. This was done by a combination of literature reviewing and various risk assessment tools. The result was an assessment of the overall evidence base in the literature, a semi‐quantitative ranking comparison between the viruses and foods of most concern, and a survey of inactivation methods, leading to a quantitative ranking of the effectiveness of each in reducing and managing food‐borne virus risk.https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2022.e200918microbial risk assessmentvirusesvirus risk assessmentvirus inactivationnorovirushepatitis
spellingShingle Monika Trząskowska
Kevin Hunt
David Rodríguez‐Lázaro
Risk assessment of enteric viruses along the food chain and in the population
EFSA Journal
microbial risk assessment
viruses
virus risk assessment
virus inactivation
norovirus
hepatitis
title Risk assessment of enteric viruses along the food chain and in the population
title_full Risk assessment of enteric viruses along the food chain and in the population
title_fullStr Risk assessment of enteric viruses along the food chain and in the population
title_full_unstemmed Risk assessment of enteric viruses along the food chain and in the population
title_short Risk assessment of enteric viruses along the food chain and in the population
title_sort risk assessment of enteric viruses along the food chain and in the population
topic microbial risk assessment
viruses
virus risk assessment
virus inactivation
norovirus
hepatitis
url https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2022.e200918
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