title: Evaluation of high hydrostatic pressure inactivation of human norovirus on strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and in their purees.
abstract: Human norovirus (HuNoV) has been an increasing concern of foodborne illness related to fresh and frozen berries. In this study, high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) inactivation of HuNoV on fresh strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries and in their purees was investigated. Porcine gastric mucin (PGM)-conjugated magnetic beads (PGM-MBs) and real-time reverse transcriptional polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) were utilized for infectious HuNoV discrimination and quantification. Strawberry puree inoculated with HuNoV genogroup I.1 (GI.1) strain was HHP-treated at 450, 500 and 550 MPa for 2 min each at initial sample temperatures of 0, 4 and 20 °C. HuNoV GI.1 strain became more sensitive to HHP treatment as the temperature decreased from 20 to 0 °C. HuNoV GI.1 or genogroup II.4 (GII.4) strains were inoculated into three types of berries and their purees and treated at pressure levels from 250 to 650 MPa for 2 min at initial sample temperature of 0 °C. For the purees, the HHP condition needed to achieve >2.9 log reduction of HuNoV GI.1 strain and >4.0 log reduction of HuNoV GII.4 strain was found to be ≥ 550 MPa for 2 min at 0 °C. HHP treatment showed better inactivation effect of HuNoV on blueberries than on strawberry quarters and raspberries. HuNoV GI.1 strain was more resistant to HHP treatment than HuNoV GII.4 strain under different temperatures and environment. The physical properties and sensory qualities of HHP-treated and untreated blueberries and the three types of berry purees were evaluated. Color, pH and viscosity of blueberries and three berry purees showed no or slight changes after HHP treatment. Sensory evaluation demonstrated that HHP treatment of 550 MPa for 2 min at 0 °C did not significantly reduced the sensory qualities of three berry purees. The results demonstrated that the HHP treatment of 550 MPa for 2 min at 0 °C could be a potential nonthermal intervention for HuNoV in berry purees without adversely affecting their sensory qualities and physical properties.
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal and Food Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA.
authors.forename: Runze
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal and Food Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA.
authors.forename: Mu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ye
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal and Food Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA.
authors.forename: Xinhui
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA.
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA.
authors.forename: Mukund
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Karwe
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA. Electronic address: haiqiang@udel.edu.
authors.forename: Haiqiang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D029798:Blueberry Plants / Q000821:virology; D005516:Food Microbiology / Q000379:methods*; D005517:Foodborne Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control*; D031985:Fragaria / Q000821:virology; D005615:Freezing; D005638:Fruit / Q000821:virology*; D006874:Hydrostatic Pressure; D050296:Microbial Viability; D029322:Norovirus / Q000502:physiology*; D065856:Rubus / Q000821:virology
keywords: Berry; Berry puree; High hydrostatic pressure; Human norovirus