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Eliminating gastroenteritis with cranberries and citrus fruits: Myth or reality?

Eliminating gastroenteritis with cranberries and citrus fruits: Myth or reality?

March 3, 2025

( Update : March 3, 2025 )

You may not know their official name, but you’ve already crossed paths with them: noroviruses, the most common cause of gastroenteritis in developed countries. These highly contagious viruses can be transmitted in many ways worldwide, including through food.

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So, there’s a link between noroviruses and lettuce?

That’s right! Whether before or after the fruit and vegetable harvest, there are many stages where noroviruses can settle on agri-food products, for example through carriers or contaminated water runoff. Noroviruses deposited on food in this way can survive, patiently waiting for the next human to infect.

Viruses that are not only patient, but also resistant!

Today’s food industry uses many strategies to eliminate potential pathogens from our fruits and vegetables, including cold pasteurization and irradiation. This is a common method that uses X-rays and gamma rays to destroy bacteria, moulds, parasites, and insects that may be found on fresh food. Noroviruses, however, are highly resistant to this stage of conservation.

Easy: Could we just irradiate them more?

Yes... and no! Because noroviruses are recalcitrant, the irradiation doses required to eliminate them also compromise the quality of fruits and vegetables. Virus-free strawberries are all well and good, but without their firm texture, they’re less appealing... And there aren’t many fans of brown lettuce.

What if the solution could be found in nature?

No problem: In response to this difficulty encountered by the agri-food industry, Professor Monique Lacroix of Institut national de la recherche scientifique and her team thought of developing a coating based on... cranberry juice and citrus extract! These researchers are the first to test this innovative combination of natural products that are safe for humans.

Does it work?

Absolutely! Thanks to the polyphenols and organic acids they contain, cranberries and citrus fruits act as antimicrobials, altering the targeted viruses, which are then much less resistant to irradiation. This reduces the irradiation time required to eliminate noroviruses on fruits and vegetables while protecting plant cells, preserving food quality, and preventing early browning. So, when will this solution be used commercially?

These images are generated by artificial intelligence for illustrative purposes only. They do not accurately represent experiments, laboratory procedures or food industry practices. Their sole purpose is to facilitate the popularization of science.

Find out more about Professor Monique Lacroix’s research:

Monique Lacroix

Eliminating viruses in our food with cranberries and citrus fruit

Winning the battle of strawberry preservation

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Eliminating gastroenteritis with cranberries and citrus fruits: Myth or reality?

You may not know their official name, but you’ve already crossed paths with them: noroviruses, the most common cause of gastroenteritis in developed countries. These highly contagious viruses can be transmitted in many ways worldwide, including through food.

Our monthly science question