A selection of publications from work carried out over the past 20 years in the area of food microbiology and virology.
Hepatitis A virus (HAV) was detected in frozen strawberries which had been implicated in a large outbreak of hepatitis A in 1997. The sample was analysed after over 20 years of storage, following a standard method not available at the time of the outbreak. This is the first study in which the HAV associated with the 1997 outbreak of foodborne hepatitis has finally been detected.
Fresh / frozen raspberries and lettuce were sampled from UK retail outlets over a 13 months, and tested for Norovirus. 5.3% of lettuce, 2.3% of fresh raspberry, and 3.6% of frozen raspberry samples were Norovirus-positive. The data raises whether food safety management systems are being effectively implemented in these food supply chains.
.... HEV appears common in pigs (although infected pigs do not show clinical signs), and evidence suggests that a number of hepatitis E cases have been associated with the consumption of undercooked pork meat and products...
.... In the review, information is given for the main foodborne viruses, implicated virus species, and food matrices involved, some history data are given, as well as modes of transmission, and sources..
This study condenses data acquired during investigations of the virological quality of irrigation water used in production of fresh produce. The data demonstrates that irrigation water used in primary production is an important vehicle of viral contamination for fresh produce, and thus is a critical control point which should be integrated into food safety management systems for viruses.
An alternative method for detection of Salmonella spp. in animal feed, based on the use of loop-mediated amplification (LAMP) in conjunction with a standard culturing procedure, was compared with the standard ISO 6579 as reference method, using soya meal as the test matrix
A rapid test has been developed for direct detection of thermotolerant Campylobacter spp. in boot swab samples, thus bypassing culture enrichment or DNA extraction. The test has potential to be carried out by farm personnel on site.
This study aimed to critically review methods for ranking risks related to food safety and dietary hazards on the basis of their anticipated human health impacts. A literature review was performed to identify and characterize methods for risk ranking from the fields of food, environmental science and socio-economic sciences.
The aim of this study was to verify that a sample process control virus (SPCV) can be recovered after sample storage, and thus indicate the effective recovery of enteric viruses
In recent years, numerous foodborne outbreaks due to consumption of berry fruit contaminated by human enteric viruses have been reported. This European multinational study investigated possible contamination routes by monitoring the entire food chain for a panel of human and animal enteric viruses.
Molecular Microbial Diagnostic Methods: Pathways to Implementation for the Food and Water Industry was developed by recognized and experienced highlevel scientists. It's a comprehensive and detailed reference that uncovers industry needs for the use of molecular methods by providing a brief history of water and food analysis for the pathogens of concern.