Enteric viruses, particularly human noroviruses (NoV) are the most common cause of food borne disease, responsible for up to 50% of all outbreaks and cases per year in the U.S.  Viruses enter the food supply across the farm-to-fork chain by exposure to contaminated waters, surfaces, and/or human hands.  Unlike bacterial pathogens, for which there are widely used validated detection technologies,  virus detection methods are less well developed.  There are many reasons for this which, when taken together, necessitate processing food or environmental samples for virus concentration and purification prior to detection using molecular-based methods.  This process is cumbersome, expensive, inefficient, and fraught with complications, including the inability to discriminate infectious from non-infectious viruses.  Many laboratories are attempting to both improve and use detection technologies to better understand the transmission and control of viruses in the food chain.  The purpose of this symposium is to discuss recent developments in virus detection strategies, and how these detection methods can be used to address real-world issues for the food industry and regulators.  The first part of the symposium will cover scientific advances that are making virus detection more practical and reliable.  In the second portion of the symposium, speakers will discuss how key considerations in food processing, sampling, and testing impact the utility of virus testing.  The symposium participant should come away with an increased understanding of the complexities associated with detection of viruses in foods and environmental samples, and how these complexities are being addressed so that we can more routinely use virus detection to protect the food supply and public health.

Presentations