Shellfish Toxin Testing

Question 1

Harmful algal bloom

Answer 1

An algal bloom that causes negative impacts on other organisms via the
production of natural toxins, mechanical damage or by other means

Question 2

Diarrhetic shellfish poisoning

Answer 2

An acute gastrointestinal illness cause by consumption of shellfish that have accumulated okadaic acid through filter feeding

Question 3

Paralytic shellfish poisoning

Answer 3

A serious illness caused by eating shellfish contaminated with saxitoxins and gonyautoxins

Question 4

Amnesic shellfish poisoning and domaic acid

Answer 4

An illness cause by the consumption of the biotoxin domaic acid through shellfish

Question 5

Okadaic acid

Answer 5

A naturally occurring polyether toxin that was originally derived from mating dinoflagellates and is known to accumulate in both marine sponges and shellfish