Heat foreign berries to kill norovirus, urges Finland

As an outbreak of norovirus in southern Finland has been linked to frozen raspberries from Poland, the Finnish food safety authority, Evira, says raspberries must be heated before use.

Noroviruses are part of a group of viruses understood to be the most common cause of stomach upset. They cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, and people may also have a fever and head and muscle pains.

Although an individual’s symptoms may pass in one or two days, the disease is highly contagious and remains in the faeces for several weeks afterwards.

Finland was hit by outbreaks of the bug in May and June, and analysis confirmed that Polish raspberries were the cause. The fruits are now suspected as having caused the new cases have been reported in the south since the beginning of this month.

Evira has not said now many people are currently known to have become sick, but they are thought to have been infected after eating desserts and cakes made with frozen raspberries that have not been heated before use. The virus can enter the fruit through contaminated irrigation water, and it stays alive and contagious during freezing.

In order to safeguard against infection, users of foreign frozen raspberries should heat the fruit to 90 ºC for at least two minutes, says Evira. Slight heating after defrosting is mot enough to ensure the raspberries are safe.

Aporte: Deinan Romero
Fuente: http://www.foodproductiondaily.com/Quality-Safety