Shellfish commercial processing, effects

Berenguer J.A., Gonzalez L., Jimenez I., Legarda T.M., Olmedo J.B., Burdaspal P.A., 1993. "The effect of commercial processing on the paralytic shellfish poison (PSP) content of naturally contaminated Acanthocardia tuberculatum". L. Food Add. Contain., 10(2) 217-230. 

Oocysts of C. parvum can retain their infectivity in molluscan shellfish (Fayer et al., 1997 Freire-Santos et al., 2001 Tamburrini and Pozio, 1999), and standard depuration processes applied to commercially harvested bivalve molluscs are not effective for Cryptosporidium (Freire-Santos et al., 2000, 2001 Gomez-Bautista et al., 2000). 

To date, there is no effective method for eliminating toxins from mussels and other bivalves in an economical and fast manner that can be commercially profitable and free of hazards. The only solution is self-purifying or natural detoxification through metabolizing the toxins. Whereas toxin accumulation in shellfish may only require a few days, its elimination requires several weeks and, on occasion, months. The detoxifying process depends on various factors sometimes related to the shellfish and sometimes to its enviromnent. 

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