Norovirus

Of late, we have done a number of stories on food safety and so my alertness level is up. I got an email from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture stating a couple of sort of alarming statistics. An estimated one in six people in the U.S. get sick from eating contaminated food per year. Human noroviruses cause more than five million cases of foodborne disease every year, more than any other pathogen, including E. coli and Salmonella. A team led by North Carolina State University researchers has developed a better understanding of how noroviruses contaminate fresh produce, such as lettuce and kale. The research team has developed surface sanitizers that reduce norovirus on food service worker gloves and food processing surfaces. The next question to me is, what is a norovirus. The U.S. Dept. Health and Human Services included a video in their email. Here's a clip. "Have you ever heard of norovirus. You've probably gotten sick from it before. Some people called norovirus the stomach bug. It infects your stomach or intestines causing stomach cramps, diarrhea and vomiting. Millions of people get sick with norovirus every year. Thousands end up in the hospital."