Seafood Safety (1991) / Chapter Skim
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1. Executive Summary
1. Executive Summary
Pages 1-20
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From page 1... ...
, there is a risk of ciguatera; other natural toxins (paralytic shellfish poisoning, neurotoxic shellfish poisoning, etc.) have been associated with shellfish from endemic areas.
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From page 2... ...
Consumers of recreational and subsistence fishery products are the second largest constituency at risk, both from natural toxins and from environmental contaminants. Inhabitants of islands in the Caribbean and tropical Pacific Ocean, and to a lesser extent of the Gulf of Mexico States, are uniquely at risk from ciguatera due to consumption of fish that feed on or near tropical reefs and prey upon reef fish.
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From page 3... ...
These and the more visible hazards mentioned can be greatly mitigated by a regulatory system specifically aimed at the causes, be they natural toxins, microorganisms, or contaminants. However, this will require something other than organoleptically based inspection systems, which may be useful for quality control and grading but are essentially worthless for detecting and controlling health risks.
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Severe NOTE: HACCP = Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point; PSP = paralytic shellfish poisoning; NSP = neurotoxic shellfish poisoning; DSP = diarrhetic shellfish poisoning; ASP = amnesic shellfish poisoning; PCBs polychlorinated biphenyls; HAV = hepatitis A virus. a Fish or shellfish, the consumption of which can lead to disease.
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From page 5... ...
; avoid high risk areas and species; trim skin and fat Adequate cooking; temperature control; proper processing and food service (1) Voluntary harvest .
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From page 6... ...
Fish-borne incidents due to causes other than natural toxins were only 9% of all outbreaks and 8% of all cases. They resulted mainly from bacteria, including common food-borne disease organisms, and from unknown etiology, suspected to be primarily enteric virus or recontaminant vibrios.
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From page 7... ...
The greatest risks from the consumption of raw molluscan shellfish could be minimized by research to develop valid human enteric virus indicators for the proper classification of shellfish growing waters; by implementing and maintaining proper treatment and disposal of sewage to avoid human enteric pathogen contamination of harvest areas; by efforts to identify and limit the number of pathogenic Boo species in shellfish; by developing new diagnostic methods and improved processing technologies; and by applying risk-based regulatory and control measures for potential microbial pathogens in raw molluscan shellfish. Other seafood-associated risks can be reduced by proper application of a Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP)
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From page 8... ...
· Valid indicators for human pathogen contamination of growing waters must be developed. Seafood-borne infections by human enteric viruses in raw and improperly cooked molluscan shellfish could be decreased significantly by the development of valid growing water indicators and of direct detection methodologies for enteric viruses.
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From page 9... ...
Natural Toxins Extent of Risk Incidents of illness due to naturally occurring seafood toxins reported to CDC in 1978-1987 were limited to ciguatera, scombroid fish poisoning, paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) , and neurotoxic (brevetoxic)
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From page 10... ...
· Although PSP is well controlled by state inspection systems and industry controls are in place for scombroid poisoning, there are no regulations for the control of ciguatera. · Recreational and subsistence fish eaters are at particular risk from natural toxins, and there is a lack of understanding by consumers of this risk.
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From page 11... ...
· Primary regulatory authority should be at the state level, with funding, quality control, and specialized assistance from a federal seafood safety program. · Imported seafoods must be certified to be free of natural toxins through equivalency arrangements or more effective memoranda of understanding (MOUs)
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From page 12... ...
· Current contaminant monitoring and surveillance programs provide an inadequate representation of the presence of contaminants in edible portions of domestic and imported seafood, resulting in serious difficulties in assessing both risks and specific opportunities for control. · Due to the unevenness of contamination among species and geographic sources, it is feasible to narrowly target control efforts and still achieve meaningful reductions in exposure.
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From page 13... ...
^ O ~ O contaminants is a task shared by EPA and FDA. Their strategy has been to focus on a limited number of chemical contaminants and to set regulatory limits by means of "action levels." Results of various federal and state efforts to monitor contaminant loads in the nation's marine and freshwater environments suggest strongly that several chemicals require a more fundamental review and evaluation.
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From page 14... ...
These analyses, by their design, offer insufficient insight into contaminant levels in the edible portion of seafood products. Inspection efforts by FDA and various state and local public health agencies are designed to ensure safety, but are insufficient to ensure in all cases that the regulatory guidelines defined by FDA and EPA are not being exceeded.
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. Consumers of seafood from these sources can be at high risk from natural toxins and chemical pollutants in certain regions and in ___ _____ ___ ____ -- -- -- - -- -- I -- -- -- -- -- -- r -- -- ~~-~-~~- -- - ~ particular species of fish.
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From page 16... ...
A more consistent and focused effort in determining and communicating public health risks from contaminated seafood should also be developed. ~ As more countries require the equivalency of domestic and imported products, it is apparent that the time has come for the international community to begin a process that would minimize the differences existing among national regulatory guidelines and approaches.
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From page 17... ...
Characteristics of Control Requirements Control measures should be applied initially at the earliest stage of seafood production by monitoring of water quality and condition. Such measures would apply to the molluscan shellfish problem and to most natural toxins and chemical contaminants, and would permit the exclusion of potentially dangerous fish or shellfish from markets by fishing closures and use of advisories.
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From page 18... ...
Testing of imports for chemical residues should be carried out systematically according to a planned program designed to provide longterm estimates of the level of contamination in particular species or in the products of different supplier countries. In view of the very complex structure of international trade in fishery products, it is desirable that a better system be established to identity the country of origin of imported seafoods.
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From page 19... ...
For example, there are bacterial pathogens, such as No vulnipcus, or nonO1 ~ cholerae that are commonly isolated from shellfish, that cause only a small number of clinical cases; we need to understand why only a minority of persons become ill after exposure to these organisms. Similarly, a better understanding is required of how natural toxins and chemicals are processed by fish, so that we can better predict when and where human illness will occur.
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From page 20... ...
must be developed. The current programs for testing water and seafoods for potentially dangerous chemicals should be broadened to provide a satisfactory data base for regulation and control.
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Key Terms
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