Source: UNIV OF MASSACHUSETTS submitted to NRP
INVESTIGATING THE IMPLICATIONS OF OBSERVED SANITATION PRACTICES ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF FOODBORNE VIRAL RECALCITRANCE
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
ACTIVE
Funding Source
AFRI COMPETITIVE GRANT
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1030449
Grant No.
2023-68008-39855
Cumulative Award Amt.
$300,000.00
Proposal No.
2022-10074
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
May 1, 2023
Project End Date
Apr 30, 2026
Grant Year
2023
Program Code
[A1701]- Critical Agricultural Research and Extension: CARE
Recipient Organization
UNIV OF MASSACHUSETTS
(N/A)
AMHERST,MA 01003
Performing Department
Dept: Food Sciences
Non Technical Summary
Awareness of norovirus risk and access to relevant educational tools in food service environments, which account for over 81% of norovirus cases annually, is particularly low. With poor sanitation practices and the ability of viruses to display recalcitrance to inactivation over subsequent subfatal disinfection treatments, viruses will persist in food service and community settings. More than half of norovirus outbreaks can be traced to poor Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs), such as poor handwashing during the preparation and serving of food. This proposal aims to use an integratedresearch and extension approach that works directly with stakeholders to identify current sanitation shortcomings. Field observations will guide the development of enhanced viral recalcitrance data and subsequent training materials for food service workers. This will shape the development of new and relevant technical support tools, including a risk model to enhance food safety engagement to improve learning that ultimately leads to improved food safety practices. Our approach includes:1. Conducting concealed observation of members within food service establishments to assess the current practices of cleaning/disinfection techniques using approved disinfectants.2. Investigate the risks associated with the potential of disinfectant formulations and contact times to result in serial subfatal treatments in practice3. Develop a risk model and training tools that can be used as a communication method for understanding norovirus risk in the processing environment.Our long-term project goal is to improve sanitation practices and raise awareness of the importance of proper sanitation in food service facilities to mitigate foodborne illness in practice.
Animal Health Component
100%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
100%
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
72350101101100%
Knowledge Area
723 - Hazards to Human Health and Safety;

Subject Of Investigation
5010 - Food;

Field Of Science
1101 - Virology;
Goals / Objectives
Awareness of norovirus risk and access to relevant educational tools in food service environments, which account for over 81% of norovirus cases annually, is particularly low. With poor sanitation practices and the ability of viruses to display recalcitrance to inactivation over subsequent subfatal disinfection treatments, viruses will persist in food service and community settings. More than half of norovirus outbreaks can be traced to poor Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs), such as poor handwashing during the preparation and serving of food. This proposal aims to use an integrated research and extension approach that works directly with stakeholders to identify current sanitation shortcomings. Field observations will guide the development of enhanced viral recalcitrance data and subsequent training materials for food service workers. This will shape the development of new and relevant technical support tools, including a risk model to enhance food safety engagement to improve learning that ultimately leads to improved food safety practices.Our approach includes:1. Conducting concealed observation of members within food service establishments to assess the current practices of cleaning/disinfection techniques using approved disinfectants.2. Investigate the risks associated with the potential of disinfectant formulations and contact times to result in serial subfatal treatments in practice3. Develop a risk model and training tools that can be used as a communication method for understanding norovirus risk in the processing environment.Our long-term project goal is to improve sanitation practices and raise awareness of the importance of proper sanitation in food service facilities to mitigate foodborne illness in practice.
Project Methods
Objective 1: Concealed observationof members within food service establishments to assess the current practices of cleaning/disinfection techniques using approved disinfectants. Observations of employee behavior and general GMP practices will be evaluated by an experienced researcher in the field. In particular, observations will be made regarding hand-washing occurrence, disinfectant used, aptitude about norovirus, disinfectant concentration, and disinfectant contact time. This data will be recorded discreetly in a lab notebook and will serve the laboratory experimental parameters for viral resistance needed to create an accurate risk model.Analysis: Concealed observations will be analyzed qualitatively since all observations will be handwritten on site. These written observations will be interpolated to detect ongoing trends in sanitation and GMP practices over the duration of the observation. Excel will be used to map qualitative observations such as disinfectant contact time and concentration. Our risk models will reflect the overall variability of practice when the variations are significant. We will use general observations of GMPs to derive the probability of opportunity for non-complaint and complaint (asymptomatic) employees to spread the virus for later use in our risk model and training tools (see Objective 3). GMP observations will be analyzed and graphed using Excel analysis platform.Objective 2: Investigate the risks associated with the potential of disinfectant formulations and contact times(those observed in practical applications) to result in subfatal treatments in practice; as well as the potential of repeated subfatal treatments to result in the development of viral variants with enhanced resistance to these treatments.Rationale 1: Preliminary data suggest that noroviruses can develop variants with enhanced resistance to other chemical disinfectants (bleach, calcium hydroxide) when repeated subfatal exposure occurs. This objective will first determine the potential for inadequate inactivation of Tulane virus to occur when exposed to quaternary ammonium solution and peroxyacetic acid solutions based upon observed practices in objective 1. Further the potential for subfatal treatments to cause the development of Tulane virus variants with enhanced resistance to quaternary ammonium and PAA will also be evaluated. The degree to which the Tulane virus displays viral resistance will be visually determined via plaque assay.Rationale 2: Peroxyacetic acid and quaternary ammonium compounds are commonly used inactivation agents used in environmental and food (including produce) applications at various levels. Although the potential for the development of enhanced viral recalcitrance has been investigated using murine norovirus with free chlorine and calcium hydroxide, the potential for PAA to promote the development of enhanced recalcitrance in Tulane virus has not been investigated. Tulane virus has merits given its ability to bind fucosylated carbohydrates(suspected co-factors for human norovirus infection), as well as fucosylated carbohydrates in produce59,60--one of the primary food applications for PAA and a food group commonly implicated in norovirus transmission. The preliminary work will have two sub-objectives: i.) investigation of the effect of serial subfatal treatments of PAA on Tulane virus, and ii.) investigation of the effect of serial subfatal treatments of Quaternary Ammonium on Tulane virus.Analysis: Analysis of variance (ANOVA) will be used to conduct statistical analysis. ANOVA tests will be run on SAS software system. For the control group (no disinfectant treatment) we will conduct an ANOVA for the starting pool versus the ending pool after each passage of Tulane to see if there is a statistical difference between the pools (as a function of cycle). Next, we will do the same for the test groups to see if there are a significant amount of less susceptible Tulane viruses in the finished pool after up to 10 cycles of disinfectant treatment (as a function of cycle when compared to the control). This will be done for all observed contact times.Objective 3: Develop a risk model and training toolsthat can be used as a communication method for understanding norovirus risk in the processing environment.A risk model will be developed to depict visual norovirus risks in the respective food service environments based on observations and norovirus behavior over subsequent exposure to disinfectants. The goal of this objective is to aid our online training and communicate risks effectively to this audience.Analysis: Risk models have proven successful in communicating risk associations of biological hazards.43 We will use RiskÒ and GoldSimÒ packages to build our model. GoldsimÒ uses statistical reports of factors not being surveyed, such as reported outbreaks associated with specific food models. GoldSim is called a "discrete event simulator". Discrete simulators are generally used for simulating factory operations, and more realistically models complex systems. This system was designed primarily to model systems exhibiting both continuousand discrete dynamics (in which the discrete events are used to represent things like failures, accidents). GoldSim supports decision-making and risk analysis by simulating future performance while quantitatively representing the uncertainty and risks. Statistical reports of factors not being surveyed, such as reported outbreaks associated with specific food models (such as spinach), will be derived and analyzed in an initial literature review. A risk model will be conducted for each of the dining commons sampled in this work, which will account for variance in observed results.

Progress 05/01/23 to 04/30/24

Outputs
Target Audience:Our target audience includes food industry professionals, focusing on food service workers who are directly responsible for cleaning and sanitizing food contact surfaces in production environments. These individuals are critical in maintaining food safety and hygiene standards across various facility types. Training and resources are tailored to support their operational responsibilities and enhance their understanding of best practices in sanitation. Changes/Problems: This project encountered significant and unforeseen challenges related to obtaining IRB approval for the concealed observation component. Although the UMass IRB full board acknowledged the study's importance and relevance, concerns about the clandestine nature of the research led to multiple rounds of revisions (four resubmissions from Dec '23 to April '24) and two full board meetings with the PI. While conditional approval has been indicated, the IRB has requested additional institutional assurances, resulting in substantial delays. These include securing union authorization letters to confirm no risk to employee status, negotiating agreements with food service facilities to protect employee confidentiality, and developing communication protocols that maintain transparency without compromising the study's integrity. To address these delays, the research team remains committed to working with the IRB and is also exploring alternative methodologies--such as administering anonymous surveys to food service operators--to achieve the study's objectives while maintaining ethical standards. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Team members learned skills in developing human subject protocols for field investigation and microbial techniques for viral research applications. They were also able to present their projects and work in research talks and posters in both department and external settings. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the next reporting period, we plan to finalize IRB approval and initiate concealed field observations across multiple food service facilities. Data collected from these observations will be analyzed and interpreted to support publications for dissemination within research and extension communities. Additionally, insights gained from the field study will inform the design of benchtop experiments, which will lay the groundwork for developing the risk model tool outlined in Objective 3.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Objective 1: Conducting concealed observation of members within food service establishments to assess the current practices of cleaning/disinfection techniques using approved disinfectants. Response: Key accomplishments during year 1 included establishing the team to design the concealed observation field study, meeting with the UMass IRB team to develop the IRB protocol and then revise, discuss and review the IRB protocol to conduct the concealed observation for a food service environment Objective 2. Investigate the risks associated with the potential of disinfectant formulations and contact times to result in serial subfatal treatments in practice Response: Year 1 accomplishments included designing and initiating studies investigating the risks associated with subfatal disinfectant treatments. The research focused on sanitizer parameters with serial sublethal exposures, assessing the potential for these treatments to contribute to the emergence of disinfectant-resistant viral variants. Bench-scale experiments evaluated various disinfectants diluted in sterile distilled water, tested across multiple contact times, with neutralization performed using 2X tryptic soy broth.

Publications

  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2024 Citation: Moore, M.D. Advances in the Detection and Control of Foodborne Viruses. Future of Food Symposium. McGill University and the Consortium de Recherche et innovations en Bioproc�d�s industriels au Qu�bec (CRiBiQ). Montreal, Quebec, Canada. 5/16/2024.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2024 Citation: Moore, M.D. "Moore Lab: Applied and Environmental Virology. CNS Rising Stars in Research Innovation  informal meeting with VIP UMass CNS alumni at the invitation of UMass Chancellor Reyes and CNS Dean Fox to discuss Moore lab research. Amherst, MA, USA. 11/16/2024.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2024 Citation: Moore Lab: Applied and Environmental Virology. UMass Food Science Advisory Board Meeting. Amherst, MA, USA. 4/19/2024.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2024 Citation: Moore, M.D. Applied and Environmental Virology. Department of Defense Army Combat Feeding Division Soldier Center. Natick, MA, USA. 2/27/2024.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2024 Citation: Kinchla, A.J. Food Science Extension Program: Integrating research and extension within food science Department of Defense Army Combat Feeding Division Soldier Center. Natick, MA, USA. 2/27/2024.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: Moore, M.D. Developments in detection and control of highly transmissible viral pathogens. World Society for Virology 2023 Meeting. Riga, Latvia. 6/16/2023.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: Moore, M.D. Applied and Environmental Virology. Invited Seminar, School of Engineering, Newcastle University. Newcastle, England. 4/28/2023.