Japan Frozen Foods Inspection Corporation, Minato, Tokyo 105-0012, Japan
Marine toxins are natural toxins which marine organisms possess, such as tetrodotoxin (TTX), paralytic shellfish poison (PSP), ciguateric toxin, diarrhetic shellfish poison (DSP), “aobudai-doku” (palytoxin (PTX) or PTX like substance) and so on, which are causative agents of food poisoning by the ingestion of marine products. Recent studies on marine toxins are clarifying the wide distribution of marine toxins in many kinds of organisms and the intoxication mechanism via the food chain, starting from toxin production by microorganisms. Recent global environmental changes appear to have caused several cases of ciguateric poisoning in temperate zones. Since infestation of marine toxins in bivalves might hinder the development of the fishery industry, measures for preventing such contamination should be established in the near future.
This paper outlines, recent progress concerning marine toxins from the viewpoint of fishery science and food hygiene.