Efficacy of Washing and Removal of Rotavirus from Food and Tableware

Fresh produce and food-contact tableware are important transmission vehicles for Group A rotavirus (RVA). Washing their surfaces before consumption is a key control measure. Municipal tap water rinsing is the most commonly used method for this purpose. In this study, specific primers and probe targeting the VP6 gene of RVA were designed to establish a triple reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) method for detecting RVA. The method showed no cross-reactivity with other enteric viruses. The limit of detection (LOD) was 48.83 RNA copies/mL. This method was used to evaluate the effectiveness of municipal tap water (Xining, Qinghai) rinsing in removing RVA from a combined total of 28 types of food and tableware. These items were artificially contaminated with fecal material from RVA-positive patients to simulate natural contamination. After rinsing for 10 s to 3 min with municipal tap water at 10 ± 1 °C and a flow rate of 0.9 ± 0.1 L/min, the RVA concentration decreased by 0.36 to 2.60 log₁₀ units. RVA remained detectable in some samples even after 3 min of rinsing. The results indicate that rinsing with municipal tap water can partially reduce the RVA load on sample surfaces. For samples with a reduction in RVA load of less than 1 log₁₀, extending rinsing time, increasing water flow rate and temperature, or supplementing with physical scrubbing may further reduce the risk of foodborne transmission.