Gaps in Food Safety Professionals’ Knowledge about Noroviruses

Introduction: Norovirus is the most common cause of acute gastroenteritis and foodborne-disease outbreaks in the United States. Each year, it causes about 21 million illnesses and contributes to about 70,000 hospitalizations and 800 deaths. Food safety professionals must be knowledgeable about proper control strategies if we are to begin reducing the burden of illness from this highly contagious microorganism.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess food safety professionals’ understanding about noroviruses and identify gaps in their knowledge.

Methods: We conducted a web-based survey of food safety professionals (n=300). The survey was distributed through various professional associations representing food safety professionals. The 18-item questionnaire used true-false and open-ended questions to assess food safety professionals’ knowledge about noroviruses, including attribution, transmission, prevention, control, and food handling.

Results: Respondents represented a variety of occupations, with environmental health specialists (37%) being the largest responding segment. Seventy percent (70%) of respondents correctly identified noroviruses as one of the three most common causes of foodborne disease in the United States. About 64% of respondents had the misperception that cruise ships are one of the three most common settings for norovirus infections; only 5% knew the three most common settings.  Seventy-two percent (72%) of respondents answered at least 15 of the 21 true-false questions correctly and only 3% answered all 21 questions correctly.   The subject area with the most incorrect answers was food handling. Only 14% of respondents correctly answered the 6 items on food handling (e.g., answered “false” to “noroviruses can be eliminated by cooking foods to 140°F or higher”).

Significance: The survey findings identify gaps in food safety professionals’ knowledge about noroviruses, particularly in the area of food handling control measures. The study findings will be used to inform the development of web-based educational materials targeting food safety professionals.