toxins Article First Detection of Tetrodotoxin in Bivalves and Gastropods from the French Mainland Coasts Vincent Hort 1,*, Nathalie Arnich 2, Thierry Guérin 1 , Gwenaëlle Lavison-Bompard 1 and Marina Nicolas 1 1 Université Paris-Est, ANSES, Laboratory for Food Safety, F-94701 Maisons-Alfort, France;
[email protected] (T.G.);
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[email protected] (M.N.) 2 ANSES, Risk Assessment Directorate, F-94701 Maisons-Alfort, France;
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[email protected]; Tel.: +33-1-4977-4671 Received: 13 August 2020; Accepted: 11 September 2020; Published: 16 September 2020 Abstract: In 2015, tetrodotoxins (TTXs) were considered a potential threat in Europe since several studies had shown the presence of these toxins in European bivalve molluscs. In this study, we investigated the occurrence of TTXs in 127 bivalve samples (mussels and oysters) and in 66 gastropod samples (whelks) collected all along the French mainland coasts in 2017 and 2018. Analyses were carried out after optimization and in-house validation of a performing hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography associated with tandem mass spectrometry (HILIC-MS/MS) method. The concentration set by European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) not expected to result in adverse effects (44 µg TTX equivalent/kg) was never exceeded, but TTX was detected in three mussel samples and one whelk sample (1.7–11.2 µg/kg). The tissue distribution of TTX in this whelk sample showed higher concentrations in the digestive gland, stomach and gonads (7.4 µg TTX/kg) than in the rest of the whelk tissues (below the limit of detection of 1.7 µg TTX/kg).