Encyclopedia of Food Safety

Abstract

This article is a comprehensive review of knowledge on HAV and provides valuable information on recent advances on virusbiology, course of infection and the disease caused. Besides epidemiology data, information on virus occurrence in differentfood types, supported by descriptions of typical foodborne outbreaks with subsequent explanations of the mechanismsleading to food contamination, have been presented. Subsequently, the importance of employment of molecular epidemiologyin identification of the viral agent in food- and waterborne outbreaks is highlighted. A concise overview is given ofthe methods used for HAV detection in food and water, with discussion of the requirement for application of appropriateanalytical controls when food is tested for the presence of viruses.