Occurrence of saxitoxine (PSP marine biotoxine) in live molluscs available on Polish market

The study was carried out on live bivalve molluscs available on Polish market. Samples of the molluscs (n = 124) were collected from warehouses and markets. Six different species of molluscs (mussels, oysters, vongole, scallops, Japanese clams, and razor clams) were used for the determination of saxitoxine (responsible for paralytic shellfish poisoning, PSP) by ELISA. The maximum concentration of PSP toxins (756.69 µg/kg of meat) was found in scallops. The majority of tested mussels were free from the PSP toxins or contained biotoxins bellow the permitted level (800 µg/kg). The analysis of toxicological status of raw bivalve molluscs available on Polish market indicated that they are safe for consumers.