With the University of Helsinki and VTT Technical Research Centre, the agency simulated conditions to study transmission from a food worker's hands to ready-to-eat foods to be eaten without further preparation.
Effective methods for combating norovirus outbreaks include a frequent change of gloves, the careful washing of hands and use of clean ingredients.
Norovirus outbreaks transmitted via food have often been linked to infected food workers preparing meals.
Transmission was found to occur from the test person's virus-contaminated hands to the protective gloves each time the test was repeated.
The study (read it in full here) also assessed the volume of virus transmitted to the sandwich from a cucumber whose surface was contaminated.
Protective gloves were more effective in transmitting norovirus to the cucumber sandwich than the contaminated ingredient.