ABSTRACT
The word shellfish describes marine and fresh water invertebrates such as lobsters or mussels which may be used as foodstuffs. There is no legal definition of shellfish, but the term is generally used to include the Crustacea and the Mollusca. Three classes of molluscs are commonly used for human consumption: bivalves, cephalopods and gastropods. The highest risk of these groups is the bivalves. Illness associated with eating bivalves has been recorded since at least 1894 when a typhoid outbreak in the US was attributed to the consumption of shellfish. According to Regulation (EC) 853/2004, shellfish are classified as either a fishery product or a mollusc according to their phylum or class. The shellfish can be clear of bacterial contaminants but still harbour virus particles. Bauder et al. found the concentration of Diarrhetic Shellfish Poisoning (DSP) toxin in scallops to be highest in the viscera and lowest in the adductor muscle.
