Seafood consumption

Schumacher, M., J. Batiste, M.A. Bosque, J.L. Domingo, and J. Corbella. 1994. Mercury concentrations in marine species from the coastal area of Tarrgona Province, Spain. Dietary intake of mercury through fish and seafood consumption. Sci. Total Environ. 156 269-273. 

In the U.S., fish and shellfish caused at least one in six food poisoning outbreaks with known etiologies, and 15% of the deaths associated with these outbreaks during 1988 to 1992. This is a marked increase over the preceding decade, when seafood consumption was associated with 10% of foodborne disease outbreaks that had identified etiologies (Ahmed, 1992 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1996 Lipp and Rose, 1997). 

Spores may be transferred from soil and plants to the sea via rainwater, causing the prevalence in coastal waters of the same C. botulinum types as on the land. Such a correlation was observed in Great Britain, where the type B predominates both in soil and in bottom sediments. Similarly, 71% of fish and bottom-sediment samples collected in southern France were contaminated with type B, while C. botulinum type E was found only in 9.6% of samples (Each et al., 2002). However, it is commonly believed that non-proteolytic type E is characteristic for the marine environment. A distinguishing feature of type E strains is the ability to grow in low temperatures (about 3°C), which are typical for bottom layers of seas and oceans. Moreover, the bottom sediments provide anaerobic conditions for the outgrowth of Clostridium. Therefore, the marine environment promotes C. botulinum type E distribution. This has been further supported by the rate of fish and seafood contamination fish and seafood isolated in many countries are most frequently contaminated with C. botulinum type E (Dodds, 1993 a,b). Furthermore, epidemiological studies have shown that the majority of botulism cases linked to fish and seafood consumption reported between 1950 and 1996 in the U.S. were caused by C. botulinum type E (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 1998). C. botulinum type F,... 

Seafood consumption data were cited from FAO Food Balance Sheets, FAO Statistics... 

Seafood consumption is a rich source of vitamins, minerals, proteins, and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids that have a wide range of beneficial effects for human health (Sidhu, 2003). However, among food... 

The oral reference dose (Oral RfD) is an estimate of the daily exposure of a person to a contaminant that is likely to be without appreciable risk of a deleterious non-carcinogenic effect during a lifetime (USEPA http //www.epa.gov/iris/). Oral RfD values for POP concentrations in seafood types are presented in Table 16.5, together with the daily intake of POPs from seafood consumed in Singapore. Daily intakes of POPs from seafood are below the oral RfD. The cancer benchmark concentration (Dougherty et al., 2000) represents the exposure concentration at which a lifetime cancer risk equates to one excess cancer death in one million persons. This level is defined as the public health protective concentration in the Congressional House Report to the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 in the USA. Cancer benchmark concentrations were exceeded for DDTs, heptachlor, and PCBs (See Table 16.5). The cancer hazard ratio is the ratio of the MDI for a specific contaminant relative to the cancer benchmark concentration. The cancer hazard ratio represents the extent to which average daily exposure exceeds the benchmark concentration. The cancer hazard ratio of seafood consumption... 

Figure 16.3. Percentage contribution of salmon, green mussels, and other types of seafood to the mean daily intake of POPs via seafood consumption in Singapore.

Patients with allergy to seafood may fail to identify the offending seafood species, often as a result of confusion regarding the diversity of seafood consumed and the different common names used to describe seafood. The three most important seafood groupings include the arthropods, mollusks, and pisces. The two invertebrate phyla of arthropods and mollusks are generally referred to as shellfish in the context of seafood consumption (Table 9.1). Most seafood species are edible and even more... 

Administration NOaA. 2007. Seafood consumption increases in 2006. In Administration NOaA, editor. Available at http //www.publicaffairs.noaa.gov/releases2007/jul07/ noaa07-rl23.html. 

Murer, A.J.L., Abildtrup, A., Poulsen, O.M., Christensen, J.M. Effect of seafood consumption on the urinary level of total hydride-generating arsenic compounds. Instability of arsenobetaine and arsenocholine. Analyst 117, 677-680 (1992)... 

The increases in the Tc concentrations in seawater and some marine organisms in Norwegian waters have been subject to large public concern. A documentation of the contamination levels in fish and seafood is of great importance to the Norwegian fisheries credibility towards both domestic and foreign markets. Results from this study will also form the basis for improved assessments of doses from seafood consumption. 

Seafood Consumption and Annual Prevalence Rates of Major Depression by Country... 

Country Major Depression (annual rate/100 persons) Seafood consumption (Ibs/person/yr)... 

Note Seafood consumption is based on disappearance data calculated as catch plus imports minus exports. Prevalence rates of major depression are from the Epidemiological Catchment Area Study, with the exception of Japan, as described in Hibbeln (1998). Results of a simple persons linear regression that includes all countries is (r = -0.85. p < 0.0005) and that excludes Japan (r=-0.74, p <0.03). These data do not demonstrate a causal relationship between seafood consumption and lower prevalence rates of major depression. 

Hibbeln JR. Homicide mortality rates and seafood consumption A cross-national analysis. World Rev Nutr Diet 2001 88 41-46. 

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