Hepatitis A is caused by the hepatitis A virus (HAV), which is spread through infected food contaminated with fecal material.  HAV transmission by food commonly occurs through a local source of contaminated water, surfaces, and infected food handlers.  Hepatitis A outbreaks are also regularly associated with consumption of fresh produce contaminated with HAV during cultivation, harvesting, processing, or distribution.

As a virus, HAV resists drying and heat more than many other enteric viruses.  Properly cooked foods pose less of a risk in the transmission of hepatitis A.  Cooking minimizes the risk of illness by reducing or eliminating the virus or other pathogens.  Contaminated foods that do not undergo cooking, or those that cooked lightly, such as fruits and vegetables, often pose a greater risk of transmitting hepatitis A.

A full-service analytical testing laboratory group with strong expertise in food safety and food microbiology, Microbac stands committed to quality laboratory analyses characterized by rapid turnaround time, outstanding technical support, and personalized customer care.

Microbac provides the experience and technical expertise to detect HAV as quickly as possible so that health officials and other government agencies can receive proper notice.

Recently developed techniques that use polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays to amplify the nucleic acids of a pathogen have been modified for detection of HAV in produce.  HAV is a positive-strand RNA virus that belongs to the hepatovirus group of the picornavirus family.  Using total RNA extracted from captured HAV particles and reverse transcription-PCR, Microbac applies this procedure for the routine surveillance of HAV in fresh produce.

Contact Microbac for more information about food testing services and food testing by PCR, or to request details about sampling, pick-up services, and pricing.