Seafood toxins: Poisoning by bivalve consumption

Seafood toxins are becoming increasingly important as etiologic agents of foodborne diseases around the world. This is partly because of greater awareness of the potential problems of the paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP), neurotoxic shellfish poisoning (NSP), diarrheic shellfish poisoning (DSP) and more recently, a new type of seafood toxicity, called amnesic shellfish poisoning (ASP). This review describes the molluskan shellfish and biotoxins implicated, the development of standardized methods for detecting and quantifying these toxins, the importance of the economic loss resulting from their presence and the establishment of regular chemical monitoring for marine toxins.