Heat Inactivation of Hepatitis A Virus in Shellfish Using Steam

Abstract

Shellfish are an important cause of foodborne viral illness. Consumer-friendly cooking recommendations for shellfish could improve food safety and decrease the risk for infection from contaminated products. Thermal inactivation parameters were established for hepatitis A virus (HAV) in mussels and validated with cooking experiments. Steaming for only 2-5 min was not sufficient to inactivate HAV in mussels in all layers of a steamer. Steaming mussels for 6 min was sufficient to inactivate HAV in all layers. These cooking guidelines produce shellfish with a reduced risk for foodborne virus transmission.

Evaluation of heat treatments, different from those currently established in the EU legislation, that could be applied to live bivalve molluscs from B and C production areas, that have not been submitted to purification or relaying, in order to eliminate pathogenic microorganisms

“…In addition to the isothermal conditions, the studies were screened to retrieve HAV thermal inactivation data in whole bivalve molluscs under non-isothermal temperature conditions for the evaluation of the model performance. Three references contain such data: Millard et al (1987), Hewitt and Greening (2006) and Harlow et al (2011), with details summarized in Appendix C.…”

“…The data derived from the study by Millard et al (1987) was based on immersion of batches of live cockles in water at 95°C for up to 3 min. In the study by Harlow et al (2011), fresh mussels were steamed in a steamer basket for up to 6 min. The mussels were arranged in five layers (the first layer was the bottom layer, the third layer the middle layer and the fifth layer the top layer).…”

“…The studies were screened to retrieve HAV thermal inactivation data in whole bivalve molluscs under non-isothermal temperature conditions for evaluation of the model performance. Three references contain such data: Millard et al (1987), Harlow et al (2011) and Hewitt and Greening (2006). The data derived from the study by Millard et al (1987) was based on immersion of batches of live cockles, artificially contaminated with HAV, in water at 95°C for periods ranging from 15 s to 3 min.…”

“…Residual viral infectivity was detected by either end-point titration or a radioimmunofocus assay. In the study by Harlow et al (2011), fresh mussels were artificially contaminated with HAV while still in the shell. These inoculated mussels were arranged in five layers (the first layer was the bottom layer, the third layer the middle layer and the fifth layer the top layer) in a steamer basket, along with un-inoculated mussels containing thermocouples to monitor the temperature.…”