P2-76 Pulsed Light Inactivation of Murine Norovirus on Various Food Contact Surfaces

Tuesday, August 5, 2014
Exhibit Hall D (Indiana Convention Center)
Zijin Zhou, Illinois Institute of Technology, Bedford Park, IL
Stephen Grove, Nestlé Product Technology Center – Solon, Solon, OH
Heng Zhao, Illinois Institute of Technology, Bedford Park, IL
Kathiravan Krishnamurthy, Illinois Institute of Technology, Bedford Park, IL
Alvin Lee, Illinois Institute of Technology, Bedford Park, IL
Introduction: Pulsed light is a promising non-thermal, surface decontamination technology, which has the potential to be applied in a food service setting.  The effect of pulsed light on bacterial inactivation has been described in the scientific literature, but little information exists on the effect of the treatment on enteric viruses.

Purpose: The purpose of this work was to determine the effect of material type, treatment time, and distance from sample to the lamp on enteric virus inactivation by pulsed light. 

Methods: Various materials common in food service settings, including 304 stainless steel, nitrile disposable gloves, and Romaine lettuce squares were each inoculated with 0.1 ml MNV-1 to achieve 7-log PFU/surface. Materials were treated with pulsed light in a Xenon Steripulse XL-3000TM pulsed light treatment system for up to 10 s, at a distance of either 83 or 133 mm from the central axis of the lamp. 

Results: At a sample distance of 83 mm, MNV-1 was inactivated by 1.8-, 2.6-, and 3.9-log PFU/surface, after 10 s treatment on inoculated nitrile gloves, stainless steel, and Romaine lettuce, respectively. Distance from the lamp affected reduction, with significantly more reduction (P > 0.05) achieved after 10 s treatment at the shorter distance on nitrile gloves and stainless steel, but not for lettuce.

Significance: A relatively short treatment using pulsed light is sufficient to inactivate MNV-1 on the surface of materials commonly used in food preparation.  The results suggest that the technology has the potential to reduce surface viral contamination in a food preparation setting.