Food Toxicants from Aquatic Animals

This chapter provides an overview of different classes of toxic substances from shellfish (crustaceans and mollusks/bivalves) and fish that live in various waterbodies, still mostly in the tropical parts of oceans. These substances, which are mainly produced by microalgae or bacteria, are biomagnified by the food chain to shellfish or fish. However, global warming and human intervention are encouraging migration of producing organisms from tropical to temperate waters, creating a global threat to human health. Of particular toxicological interest is tetrodotoxin, a highly toxic substance found in palatable puffer fish and several other marine organisms.