The new test, developed at Queen’s Institute for Agri-Food
and Land Use, not only ensures shellfish are free of toxins before they reach
the food chain but is likely to revolutionize the global fishing industry.
While the current process for monitoring potentially
dangerous toxins in shellfish takes up to two days, the new test slashes the
testing time to just 30 minutes using new biosensor technology and provides a
much more reliable result.
The test detects paralytic shellfish poisons, which paralyze
anyone who consumes them and kills around 25% people who are poisoned.
Leading the project is Professor Chris Elliott, Director of
the Institute of Agri-Food and Land Use at Queen’s School of Biological
Sciences, who said: “Toxins secreted by
algae, and which concentrate in shellfish, are a major hazard to consumers and
can bring huge economic losses to the aquaculture industry.
“While the existence of these toxins has been known for
some time, there have been major concerns about the effectiveness of tests used
to detect them. There is also growing evidence that climate change is causing
many more toxic episodes across the world, resulting in the closure of affected
shellfish beds.
“The new test, developed at Queen’s, is much quicker
and more reliable than existing methods. It works by using unique ‘detector
proteins’ to seek out minute amounts of toxins present in mussels, oysters,
cockles and scallops.
“The test will not only make shellfish safer to eat,
but it will also have a significant impact on global aquaculture industries as
they struggle to deal with the rising problems of toxins caused by climate
change.
“The test has been developed as part of a €10 million
(Euro) BioCop research project led by Queen’s and involving 32 international
research partners and the European Commission.
“We have also signed a substantial contract with the
UK-based company Neogen Europe to commercialize the idea. This will be the
third such aquaculture product developed by Queen’s and Neogen Europe, helping
the company to develop its unique portfolio of rapid food safety tests and
reinforcing Queen’s reputation as a global leader in this area.”
Research at Queen’s will also be aided by a $500,000 (US
dollars) grant from The American Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) to further
develop the test in the USA so it can be conducted in laboratories and on boats
as soon as the shellfish are caught, and will help drastically cut the time
taken to get the catch from fishing nets to supermarket shelves.
Institute
for Agri-Food and Land Use at Queen’s University
SOURCE: Queen’s University
Belfast
