Effect of high hydrostatic pressure processing on norovirus infectivity and genome stability in strawberry puree and mineral water

We report an evaluation of the effect of various combinations of pressures and times on the inactivation of norovirus (NoV) in two types of matrices that are important in NoV transmission: water and soft fruits. The human NoV surrogate murine norovirus was used as the model virus. The effect of HHP on the viral genome was evaluated by using RT real-time PCR (RT-qPCR), and infectivity assay was used to assess effects on the ability of the virus to attach to and replicate in cells. HHP treatments of 400 MPa for 2.5 min proved to be sufficient for efficient inactivation of NoV (> 99.9% reduction). The efficacy of viral inactivation was highly dependent on the matrix in which the virus was present. Therefore, the effect of HHP should be carefully studied in all matrices to which HHP could potentially be applied. Finally, we found no consistent correlation between RT-qPCR and virus infectivity results, and consequently RT-qPCR is not a satisfactory tool for predicting risks to human health.