The future of the shellfish industry could depend on the findings of an expert committee established by the Food Safety Authority (FSA) which will meet on December 1st to determine the levels at which a deadly toxin, identified in molluscs, may be safe for human consumption.
The risk management group of the Molluscan Safety Committee was set up by the FSA four weeks ago to investigate whether the Azaspiracid biotoxin (AZP) can be ingested at certain levels by humans who eat shellfish without causing them harm.
Up to last May, some 30 bays around the coast where shellfish are gathered commercially were closed because of the presence of the toxin. Bantry Bay, the largest producer and processor of shellfish in the Republic, remains closed because of the danger to health.
The group has already prepared two draft reports for the committee. The hope is that at next month's meeting the committee will be in a position to consider the evidence and make a decision on the suitability of shellfish for human consumption.
As has already been reported in The Irish Times, compensation claims for more than £3 million have been lodged with the Government by producers whose livelihoods have been hit because of the ban.
But according to FSA sources, the situation is so serious that if it cannot be shown that shellfish containing the toxin at defined levels are fit for humans to eat, then the entire industry could be at risk. The overall value of farmed mussels, one of the biggest sectors in the industry, between sale value and processing, is £24 million per annum.
AZP was first noticed in Killary Harbour, Co Mayo, in 1995. How long it was present before that is not known but what has been established is that it is now present around the coastline and that it was particularly virulent in the past year.
Conventional testing for toxins was of no value in identifying AZP but new test methods developed by Dr Kevin James, head of the department of ecotoxicology at the Cork Institute of Technology (CIT), and the University of Tohoku in Japan, have succeeded in isolating the toxin. Two years ago, it was officially declared as a new toxin and named for the first time.
Before that, the main source of poisoning in shellfish was diarrhetic shellfish poisoning (DSP), first identified in Japan. Ironically, although the Japanese have been working in close collaboration with the CIT, AZP has not yet been found in Japan. Neither does the standard DSP test detect it.
In fact, the CIT laboratory is the only one in Europe capable of conducting the sophisticated analysis necessary to detect AZP. The work of Dr James and his 15-strong team has been recognised by the World Health Organisation, at whose behest he ran a 10-day training workshop on shellfish poisoning last September.
It was attended by scientists from 15 countries. Although AZP is now seen as a global phenomenon, in Europe Norway, the UK and Ireland are the countries worst affected and Dr James has been widely consulted for help in detecting the toxin.
Yesterday, officials from the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Services (CEFAS), the regulatory body for the industry in the UK, travelled to Cork for further discussions on the toxin. While it is not fatal, it causes severe gastroenteritis which can last for several days. Shellfish exported from Ireland has already been identified as the source of poisoning outbreaks in Italy, France and the UK, according to Dr James.
There are fears within the industry that confidence in the ability of Irish producers to produce healthy food will be eroded in foreign markets unless the toxin can be brought under control and this is compounded by the fact that it may take years to understand precisely how and why it is spread.
According to Dr James, AZP is found typically in clean, unpolluted waters which would be regarded as prime sites by shellfish producers. The argument between scientists, he adds, is whether AZP can be linked to climatic changes resulting from human activities.
The algae which carry the toxin to Irish waters are borne on Atlantic currents which have increased in temperature each year for the past decade. In turn, this may be linked to the gradual but definite erosion of the ice cap in the North Pole due to global warming. In Ireland, says Dr James, the challenge is to put in place a shellfish testing regime which will ensure the quality of home-produced products and guarantee health safety.
As well as the FSA, the Department of the Marine, Bord Iascaigh Mhara, the Irish Shellfish Association, the Irish Fishermen's Organisation, fish processors and the Marine Institute have joined forces to combat the problem, which has the potential to wipe out the Irish shellfish industry.
The risk assessment group has been examining the exposure route of the toxin, its similarities to or differences from other bio-toxins, hazard characteristics, such as the dose/response relationship, and the process routes of infected shellfish after harvesting.
Tests using animals have also been carried out. Research to date has revealed that while the DSP toxin is concentrated in the livers of molluscs, AZP has migrated from the liver and is also found in the flesh.
Mr Peter Whelan, contracts manager for the FSA's marine contract, said the December 1st meeting would be crucial in assessing progress made so far and determining if shellfish containing levels of the toxin can be declared safe for human consumption.