Matportalen
The Norwegian Food Safety Authority monitors algal toxins in mussels, and gives dietary advice every week. Here you can check whether it is safe to eat mussels from your district.
The mussel warning is an offer for those who want to pick shells for their own use. Norwegian cultivated mussels and other types of shells that are bought in shops and sold commercially must be controlled and safe.
In 2023, samples will be taken from 33 sampling points. See also blue gill warning for Sweden and Denmark .
In addition to monitoring algae deposits and algae toxins in shells, samples are also taken to map contamination by bacteria, viruses and environmental toxins.
The Norwegian Food Safety Authority started a national inspection program for shellfish in 2006. The program is a combination of dietary advice for the public and inspections at commercial shellfish farms. The advice to the public is coordinated by the Norwegian Food Safety Authority in Trondheim.
The water and net drag samples are sent to marine biologists who count different types of algae in the samples. The shell samples are sent to the Department of Food Safety and Infection Biology at the Norwegian University of Environmental and Biosciences – NMBU (formerly NVH) in Oslo, which carries out a chemical analysis.
The algae toxins that are mainly looked for are Diarrhetic Shellfish Poisoning toxin (DSP-toxin) and Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning toxin (PSP-toxin), which are respectively a diarrhea toxin and a nerve toxin. The algae that produce DSP poison are from the genus Dinophysis spp. and PSP poison is produced by algae from the genus Alexandrium spp. There is also a search for algae that produce Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning toxin (ASP poison) which damages the brain cells and can cause permanent memory loss, as well algae that can be toxic to fish.
Only chemical methods are used to examine the content of algal toxins in shells. Before 1 July 2011, the tests were done on mice.
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