North Carolina State University will use a $25 million grant
from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National
Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) to strengthen food
safety by studying human noroviruses across the food supply
chain in an effort to design effective control measures and
reduce the number of virus-caused food borne illnesses. Human
noroviruses are the most common cause of food borne disease,
responsible for more than 5 million cases in the United States
each year. Noroviruses spread from person to person, through
contaminated food or water, and by touching contaminated
surfaces. Molluscan shellfish like oysters, clams and mussels;
fresh produce; and foods that are extensively handled just prior
to consumption are at greatest risk for contamination. Dr. Lee-
Ann Jaykus, a professor in the Department of Food, Bioprocessing
and Nutrition Sciences at NC State, is the lead investigator of
this five-year project. Her group, called the USDA-NIFA Food
Virology Collaborative, consists of a te