Has the Norovirus Finally Met Its Match?

From crisp iceberg lettuce and beautifully ripe tomatoes to juicy strawberries and golden mangoes, there’s no arguing with the fact that fresh food is delicious. Unless of course, it’s been infected with the dreaded norovirus.

Best known for wreaking havoc on the stomachs of cruise ship passengers, the gastroenteritis virus lurks on fresh fruit and vegetables. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea, with health experts labelling it as extremely common and highly contagious. In tightknit environments like cruise ships, schools, child care centres, aged care facilities, restaurants and hospitals, things can get messy to say the least.  

Fighting gastro with gas

Now, a team of researchers from the University of Minnesota have found a way to sterilise fresh food, and are claiming it’s as simple as blasting produce with ionised gas. The chilled plasma is created by filtering room temperature air through an electric field, then spraying it onto food. It actively kills pathogens, and sterilises produce in a matter of seconds.

Keeping veggies crisp, and safe

As America’s leading cause of foodborne illnesses, norovirus infects more than 20 million people every year. While using heat as a sterilising agent does work with some food, it’s unsuitable for fresh produce. So, instead of heat food microbiologist Hamada Aboubakr and his colleagues turned to cold plasma.

Testing their theory on contaminated lettuce leaves and stainless steel surfaces, they blasted both with cold plasma. After just five minutes, the ions were able to wipe out 99% of norovirus particles.

A food hygiene breakthrough

Now, the team are testing the concept on other foodborne viruses, including hepatitis A. This emerged as a big problem last year, when over 140 Americans fell sick after consuming contaminated strawberries imported from Egypt. As well as fresh produce, Aboubakr is also confident that cold plasma blasts can destroy the drug-resistant bacteria that lurks on chicken breasts, and other raw meat.

For cruise passengers, the breakthrough could mean the difference between a holiday spent soaking up the sun, and a holiday spent hiding in the bathroom. Aboubakr also hopes the technology can eventually be used to sterilise restaurants, supermarket produce aisles, and anywhere else the norovirus could be skulking.

New medical breakthroughs are always emerging, with ‘Ultrapure Water as a Component of Multi-Parametric Assays Used in Drug Discovery’ offering a glimpse at the latest developments in biotechnology. The article spotlights the revolutionary arium® pro VF laboratory water system, and its role in creating the ultrapure water needed for cell-based multi-parametric profiling analysis.