At the beginning
of September the Food Standards Agency (FSA)
issued a warning not to eat mussels which
may contain potentially harmful levels of
toxins. A recall has since been undertaken
to remove the affected products including
fresh mussels sold in 1kg net from the shelves
of 3 main supermarkets. The toxin, Paralytic
Shellfish Poisoning (PSP) occurs very infrequently
but in rare cases can be fatal in humans.
Symptoms include tingling
in the mouth which spreads through the body, turning to numbness and in
extreme cases can lead to paralysis which stops the sufferer breathing.
Under no circumstances should the affected mussels be eaten and they should
be disposed of or returned to the store immediately.
Levels found which led to the recall were above the level permitted by
law. The European Union (EU) has currently set levels of 0.8 mg/kg of tissue
for PSP.
Product
Description
No.
of Tests /
Amount
Code
No.
RIDASCREEN® FAST Saxitoxin (PSP)
Enzyme immunoassay for quantitative analysis of saxitoxin and related toxins
in mussels.
Detection Limit: 50ppb
48 determinations
Incubation time: 30mins
R1902
DSP-CHECK
Enzyme immunoassay for analysis of
diarrhetic shellfish toxins
