Norovirus in the UK food supply chain – where are we and what's next?

Noroviruses (NoV) are a major cause of infectious diarrhoea and vomiting and can lead to outbreaks of gastroenteritis. Like other organisms that affect the gut, NoV can be passed from person to person, or be picked up from a contaminated environment or through eating contaminated food.

Campden BRI’s norovirus seminar, 28th September, will provide industry with up-to-date information about the prevalence of norovirus in the UK food supply chain. New, unseen data on norovirus in the UK food chain will be presented, plus data on the presence of norovirus in oysters, salad leaves and soft berry fruits sold at retail and norovirus in the catering environment.

There will also be presentations from expert speakers:

• The Norovirus Attribution Study (NoVAS), Prof Sarah O’Brien (University of Liverpool)
• A one year survey of norovirus in UK oysters collected at the point of sale, Dr James Lowther (CEFAS)
• Prevalence of Norovirus in produce sold at retail in the United Kingdom, Dr Nigel Cook (Jorvik Food and Environmental Virology)
• Prevalence of NoV in the catering environment in outbreak and non-outbreak premises, Dr Nicola Elviss (Public Health England)
• Measuring norovirus capsid integrity for predicting infectivity and determining the origins of norovirus RT-qPCR signals, Dr Angus Knight
• What should we do now?, Martin D’Agostino (Campden BRI), includes a round table workshop/discussion

This seminar is aimed at technical managers and microbiologists working in catering, retail or the shellfish or fresh produce sectors.

Contact Campden BRI’s training team for more information +44(0)1386 842104 or at training@campdenbri.co.uk