Queens' University Pioneers New Technology for Safer Shellfish

A new test developed at Queen’s Institute for Agri-Food and Land Use that ensures shellfish are free of toxins before they reach the food chain may revolutionize the global fishing industry.

While the current process for monitoring potentially dangerous toxins in shellfish takes up to two days, the new test provides a reliable result in 30 minutes using new biosensor technology.

The test detects paralytic shellfish poisons, which paralyse anyone who consumes them and kills about 25 per cent people who are poisoned.

The test has been developed as part of BioCop research project led by Queen’s, involves 32 international research partners and the European Commission, and has received a grant from the FDA to further develop the test in the U.S., so it can be conducted in laboratories and on boats as soon as the shellfish are caught.

Leading the project is Professor Chris Elliott, Director of the Institute of Agri-Food and Land Use at Queen’s School of Biological Sciences, who said: “Toxins secreted by algae, and which concentrate in shellfish, are a major hazard to consumers and can bring huge economic losses to the aquaculture industry.

“While the existence of these toxins has been known for some time, there have been major concerns about the effectiveness of tests used to detect them. There is also growing evidence that climate change is causing many more toxic episodes across the world, resulting in the closure of affected shellfish beds," he said.

The new test uses unique ‘detector proteins’ to seek out minute amounts of toxins present in mussels, oysters, cockles and scallops.

For more information visit BioCop.