Guidance Level for Brevetoxins in French Shellfish

• Published in: Marine drugs Vol. 19; no. 9; p. 520
• Main Authors: Arnich, Nathalie, Abadie, Eric, Amzil, Zouher, Dechraoui Bottein, Marie-Yasmine, Comte, Katia, Chaix, Estelle, Delcourt, Nicolas, Hort, Vincent, Mattei, César, Molgó, Jordi, Le Garrec, Raphaele
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 15-09-2021; MDPI
• Subjects: Algae; Animals; Biological assays; Brevetoxins; Cardiac arrhythmia; Case reports; Consumption; Dinoflagellates; Dinoflagellida; emerging toxins; Environmental Monitoring; Food and Nutrition; France; guidance level; Health risks; Humans; Ingestion; Laboratories; Lagoons; Life Sciences; marine biotoxins; Marine Toxins - analysis; Meat; Mediterranean Sea; Mollusks; Mussels; neurotoxic shellfish poisoning; Neurotoxicity; Occupational health; Occupational safety; Oxocins - analysis; Oysters; Paralytic shellfish poisoning; Phytoplankton; Poisoning; Safety; Shellfish; Shellfish Poisoning - prevention & control; Symptoms; Toxicology; Toxicology and food chain; Toxins; Water quality; France; Mediterranean Sea; New Zealand; United States > US; Mexico; Australia; Florida; Corsica; brevetoxins; shellfish; guidance level; marine biotoxins; neurotoxic shellfish poisoning; emerging toxins; Emerging toxins; Marine biotoxins; Neurotoxic shellfish poisoning; Shellfish; Brevetoxins; Guidance level
• ISSN: 1660-3397; 1660-3397
• DOI: 10.3390/md19090520

Brevetoxins (BTXs) are marine biotoxins responsible for neurotoxic shellfish poisoning (NSP) after ingestion of contaminated shellfish. NSP is characterized by neurological, gastrointestinal and/or cardiovascular symptoms. The main known producer of BTXs is the dinoflagellate
, but other microalgae are also suspected to synthesize BTX-like compounds. BTXs are currently not regulated in France and in Europe. In November 2018, they have been detected for the first time in France in mussels from a lagoon in the Corsica Island (Mediterranean Sea), as part of the network for monitoring the emergence of marine biotoxins in shellfish. To prevent health risks associated with the consumption of shellfish contaminated with BTXs in France, a working group was set up by the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (Anses). One of the aims of this working group was to propose a guidance level for the presence of BTXs in shellfish. Toxicological data were too limited to derive an acute oral reference dose (ARfD). Based on human case reports, we identified two lowest-observed-adverse-effect levels (LOAELs). A guidance level of 180 µg BTX-3 eq./kg shellfish meat is proposed, considering a protective default portion size of 400 g shellfish meat.