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FINAL REPORT a Critical Review of the Current Evidence for the Use Of FINAL REPORT A critical review of the current evidence for the use of indicator shellfish species for the purposes of biotoxin and chemical contaminants monitoring in the Scottish shellfish production areas FS616037 October 2014 Catherine McLeod, Seafood Safety Assessment Ltd. © Crown Copyright 2014 This report has been produced by Seafood Safety Assessment Ltd. under a contract placed by the Food Standards Agency (the Agency). The views expressed herein are not necessarily those of the Agency. Seafood Safety Assessment Ltd. warrants that all reasonable skill and care has been used in preparing this report. Notwithstanding this warranty, Seafood Safety Assessment Ltd. shall not be under any liability for loss of profit, business, revenues or any special indirect or consequential damage of any nature whatsoever or loss of anticipated saving or for any increased costs sustained by the client or his or her servants or agents arising in any way whether directly or indirectly as a result of reliance on this report or of any error or defect in this report. 1 SUMMARY Scotland has a diverse bivalve shellfish industry, with around 160 active in-shore production areas, which are commercially classified for a range of bivalve species. Bivalve shellfish are filter-feeding organisms and algal blooms can lead to high levels of toxins being accumulated by shellfish through feeding. Other chemical contaminants (e.g. metals and organic compounds) are also accumulated by shellfish via filter feeding or direct absorption by the gills. To protect human health, statutory monitoring of a range of toxins and contaminants in shellfish is undertaken as part of the official control programme in Scotland. To conserve resources, often one species (the so called “indicator”) within an area is monitored for marine toxins and provides an indication of risk for other shellfish species produced in the same location. In Scotland, mussels are the most commonly used indicator species. Cockles, Pacific oysters and razors are also used as indicator species in a few areas. Indicator species are not currently used to support food safety risk management of contaminants in shellfish in Scotland. To assist in evaluating the evidence base for the use of particular shellfish species as indicators, a review of the literature has been undertaken, including collation of information on the worldwide uptake of indicator species in shellfish management programmes and an analysis of comparative toxin accumulation by different bivalves using historical marine toxin monitoring data generated in Scotland to date. The review revealed interspecies differences in toxin accumulation, and confirmed the widely held belief that mussels are highly efficient accumulators of marine toxins and generally accumulate higher concentrations than most other bivalve species during algal blooms. This was supported by data generated through concurrent monitoring of multiple species in the official control (OC) programme in Scotland (2010 – 2013), which revealed 10 occasions on which toxins (paralytic shellfish poisons (PSP), diarrhetic shellfish poisons (DSP) and yessotoxins) were detected in mussels in the absence of toxicity in other shellfish species. However, while the findings of the literature review and data analysis support the general utility of mussels as an indicator species, some exceptions of relevance to Scotland were noted: Pacific oysters can accumulate significant quantities of azaspiracids (AZA), and at times have been reported to contain higher concentrations than mussels co- sampled from the same area at the same time. Studies suggest that King scallops can accumulate higher levels of amnesic shellfish poisons (ASP) and PSP than co-occurring mussels. Data from Scotland’s OC programme shows three occasions on which scallops contained elevated concentrations of ASP in the gonad and/or whole tissue, while mussels (co-sampled) did not contain detectable levels. With respect to toxin elimination, the literature demonstrates that depuration rates of toxins differ between bivalve species. Various examples were noted in which certain toxins were eliminated at slower rates from cockles, scallops, oysters and clams, when compared to mussels. This provides some explanation as to why most countries surveyed as part of this review test each species individually to facilitate re-opening of production areas following toxin bloom events, rather than relying on the results from an indicator species such as mussels. Regarding the regulated chemical contaminants, the published literature suggests that oysters accumulate significantly higher concentrations of cadmium than mussels. Similarly, there is a small amount of evidence that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) may be present at higher concentrations in oysters compared to mussels and cockles that co-occur in the same area. There is limited evidence 2 that lead and mercury may accumulate to higher levels in mussels than oysters. However, in general the evidence base for differences in accumulation of contaminants between bivalve species is weak, with few published studies undertaken which involve concurrent sampling of multiple bivalve species. Similarly, while a significant number of publications exist on marine toxin accumulation and elimination, few studies have been specifically designed to investigate the validity of the use of indicator species for the various regulated toxin groups and commercially produced shellfish species. Thus a large number of data gaps were identified during the review process and a series of recommendations have been made regarding future research to address high priority information needs. Most of the recommendations identify a need for concurrent monitoring of particular toxins and contaminants of concern in various combinations of bivalve species: these aim to strengthen the scientific basis for policy decisions regarding which indicator species are appropriate to use in Scotland’s toxin and contaminant monitoring programmes. 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Scotland has a diverse bivalve shellfish industry, with around 160 active in-shore production areas which are commercially classified for a range of bivalve species including mussels, razors, Pacific oysters, cockles, surf clams, native oysters, queen scallops and king scallops. Mussels are the most significant commercial species produced in the in-shore environment1, with around 6500 tonnes produced in 2012, valued at around £7 million. Bivalve shellfish are filter-feeding organisms that primarily consume phytoplankton that live in the water column or on the benthos. Certain species of phytoplankton produce toxins and in some environmental conditions the plankton blooms can result in high levels of toxins being accumulated by shellfish, primarily through the process of filter feeding. Consumption of significant concentrations of some toxin types by humans can result in a variety of illnesses. Given the potential for human illness, five different groups of marine toxins are currently subjected to regulatory controls in the EU, including Scotland. The regulated toxins include: paralytic shellfish poisons (PSP), diarrhetic shellfish poisons (DSP, which includes okadaic acid, dinophysistoxins and pectenotoxins), azaspiracids (AZA), yessotoxins (YTX) and amnesic shellfish poisons (ASP). Other chemical contaminants, such as inorganic metals and organic compounds, can also arise in the marine environment through a range of pathways that are of both anthropogenic (e.g. mining, smelting, release of wastewater etc) and biogenic (e.g. volcanic activity, natural erosion of rocks etc) origins. These contaminants can also accumulate in bivalve shellfish via direct absorption across the surface of the gills and through filter feeding on particulate matter to which the contaminants may have adhered. Particular chemical contaminants are known to cause negative health impacts in humans if long term exposure occurs, thus particular metals and organic contaminants are also subjected to regulatory controls in bivalve shellfish. Chemical contaminants that are currently regulated in bivalve shellfish include the metals cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg) and lead (Pb), and organic compounds, which include polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), dioxins and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (DL-PCBs). To protect human health, statutory monitoring of marine toxins and chemical contaminants in shellfish is undertaken as part of the official control programme that is facilitated by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) in Scotland. Given (a) the diversity of shellfish species produced in Scotland; (b) the presence of multiple species within a single production zone; and (c) the expense associated with chemical testing programmes, often one species within an area (commonly referred to as a ‘pod’) is monitored for the presence of marine toxins and provides an indication of risk for all shellfish species produced in the same location. Shellfish species that are used to provide an indication of risk for other co-occurring species are frequently described as ‘indicator’ or ‘sentinel’ species. While indicator species are used for marine toxin management of shellfish, they are not currently used to support food safety risk management of contaminants in shellfish in Scotland. Given the use of indicator species to provide information regarding the marine toxin risk of other nearby shellfish species, it is imperative that the indicator species is relatively sensitive
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