Marine biotoxins
Maximum permitted levels in seafood
The following limits apply to live bivalve molluscs, echinoderms, tunicates and gastropods placed on the market. The values refer to samples measured in 'the whole body or any part edible separately'.
|
Biotoxin |
Maximum permitted level |
Expressed as: |
|
Paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) |
800 |
µg/kg |
|
Amnesic shellfish poisoning (ASP) |
20 |
mg of domoic acid/kg |
|
Okadaic acid, dinophysistoxins and pectenotoxins together |
160 |
µg of okadaic acid equivalents/kg |
|
Yessotoxins |
1 |
mg yessotoxin equivalent/kg |
|
Azaspiracids |
160 |
µg azaspiracid equivalents/kg |
Relevant legislation: Commission Regulation 853/2004 as amended (see in particular Chapter V, Section VII in Annex III of the Regulation). The methods used for determining the toxins are described in Annex III of Regulation 2074/2005.
The FSA's Shellfish page has information on regulation and monitoring of the shellfish harvesting industry.
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