In response to a request from the 53rd Session of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene (CCFH), the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Meeting on Microbiological Risk Assessment (JEMRA) convened a meeting to review recent scientific developments, data and evidence associated with foodborne viruses.
The Expert Committee: 1) reviewed the literature and available surveillance databases, and participated in an expert knowledge elicitation, which ranked foodborne viruses according to frequency and severity; 2) ranked the relevant food commodities of highest public health concern; 3) discussed methods for virus testing performed for outbreak investigation and product testing as part of surveillance and monitoring strategies; and 4) reviewed current and potential indicators for viral contamination.