Newsletter #12

Primoris in list of EU Reference Lab for high quality viral analyses on soft fruits

Since this year, Primoris is your partner for accredited and reliable analyses of the foodborne viruses Norovirus (type GI and GII) and Hepatitis A virus. Moreover, Primoris has been included in the list of Member State Laboratories capable of doing viruses in soft fruits, established by the European Union Reference Laboratory (EURL). This document has been prepared by the EURL in cooperation with the EU network of National Reference Labs and other European laboratories. The intent is to provide a guide to Member State Competent Authorities and others wishing to identify laboratories able to supply virus testing services for soft fruits.

Avoid risk and check your safety management system

The past few years, we’ve noticed an increasing number of alerts and reported outbreaks of foodborne viruses in foods. Viruses mostly associated with viral foodborne illnesses and outbreaks are Norovirus (NoV) and Hepatitis A virus (HAV). Noroviruses have been recognized in Europe as a leading cause of foodborne gastroenteritis over the last decade. HAV causes very severe inflammation of the liver (hepatitis).

There are actually limited European legislation and microbiological criteria in place for Norovirus and Hepatitis A virus in fresh produce and derived products. However, each food business operator must comply with the requirements of good practices and HACCP and viruses can be addressed as a potential hazard in certain production processes. So avoid risk and check your food safety management system.  

Sample matrices

We offer the analysis of foodborne viruses on fresh produce and fruits:

• unprocessed vegetables and fruits
• cut ready-to-eat vegetables and fruits
• unpasteurized fruit/vegetable juices
• frozen vegetables and fruits

Specialists involved in method development - Accreditation

Our detection procedure is based on the ISO Technical Specification 15216, describing a quantitative and qualitative horizontal method for determination of HAV and NoV in food using RT-qPCR (ISO/TS 15216:2).

NoV and HAV detection are still very difficult and hampered by several limitations, especially in the extraction process. That is why, in the development of our method, we worked closely together with two international authorities in the field of virology, microbiology and food preservation: prof. dr. ir. Mieke Uyttendaele and Prof. dr. ir. Liesbeth Jacxsens of the accredited Laboratory for Food Microbiology and Food Preservation, part of the Belgian Ghent University. 

Thanks to this collaboration and especially the knowledge of these experts, we were able to take the extraction process of the method to a new level. This has lead to the development of a method that offers the highest possible reliability.

Pricing and other details

Please contact your market manager or our customer team for more info.