Summer is the peak season for eating seafood. Many citizens will go to the seaside cities on weekends or short holidays to enjoy seafood. However, recently, the Qinhuangdao Municipal Market Supervision and Administration Bureau issued an urgent reminder, claiming that the paralytic shellfish poisoning exceeds the standard in scallops, causing high risks. It is recommended that the citizens should not catch, buy, or eat scallops to avoid serious food poisoning reactions.
Paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) is a type of neuromuscular paralytic that may block cellular sodium ion channels, causing nervous system transmission disorders and paralysis, which in turn causes poisoning. Common mussels, clams, oysters, scallops, and sea scallops may contain PSP toxins. People eating shellfish (such as clams, oysters, scallops, etc.) contaminated with paralytic shellfish toxins may suffer from poisoning. The main poisoning this time is scallops, that is, mussels. PSP toxins are not produced by shellfish, but by bacteria in the ocean. They are deposited on seaweed, eaten by shellfish, and then enriched through the food chain. They enter the bodies of animals such as shellfish and are formed through accumulation, amplification, and transformation in their bodies.
When people have shellfish containing toxins, the toxins will be quickly released in the body and cause poisoning. The incubation period of poisoning is only a few minutes or hours. The symptoms of poisoning include paralysis of the limbs, headache, nausea, salivation, fever, rash, etc. In some severe cases, respiratory arrest may occur. Among all the shellfish poisoning incidents in marine food, paralytic shellfish toxins are recognized as the most widely distributed, most frequently occurring, and most harmful to public health in the world. Many countries and relevant international organizations around the world have strictly managed and controlled shellfish aquatic products and have formulated PSP limit standards for corresponding shellfish aquatic products and their products. China and most countries in the world have detection indicators for shellfish PSP. Generally speaking, it is okay to eat regular seafood.
How to prevent poisoning?
1. Avoid eating shellfish aquatic products during the peak period of toxin outbreaks. Paralytic shellfish poisoning mostly occurs in the high-temperature season from April to October, which is the red tide period. Since the main way of paralytic toxin poisoning is the formation of red tides due to seawater pollution, which contains many dinoflagellate organisms. It is recommended to avoid eating or eating less shellfish during this period.
2. Do not buy so-called freshly caught or wild aquatic products. Buy aquatic products from regular channels.
Beijing 120 reminds that if you have adverse reactions after eating seafood, especially clams, you should not delay and seek medical treatment in time to avoid serious consequences. If necessary, please call emergency number 120 for transfer to medical treatment.