Shellfish Toxins—the Growing Hazards

Abstract

Despite the massive therapeutic and life-saving benefactions of the genus Penicillium in the past, some of its constituent species may have to be added to the already ample catalogue of hazards facing shellfish gourmets. That is the strong implication of recent investigations carried out by researchers at the Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark, and the universities of Lyon and Nantes in France. Their discovery of mycotoxins and other hazardous substances in penicillia from shellfish-farming areas has promoted the group to call for a wider survey of toxins in edible shellfish and their threats to human health.