WRITTEN QUESTION P-0441/02

by Rosa Miguélez Ramos (PSE) to the Commission

(12 February 2002)

Subject: Toxins in scallops

Scallops a bivalve mollusc which is highly prized by European consumers have long been contaminated by algae carrying toxins such as ASP and PSP.

Some time ago the Commission, which is responsible for protecting the health of our consumers, fixed limit values for the presence of these toxins in the edible parts of molluscs. This led to restrictions on harvesting and marketing which were never applied homogeneously across the whole of the EU. Some producer regions continued to harvest and market molluscs even though they contained levels of toxins above the limit. In my own region, Galicia, strict application of the rules has led to a total ban on scallop harvesting throughout the past seven years, causing heavy financial losses for the extracting industry and giving rise to illegal harvesting, which is always undesirable.

According to the information I have received, the Commission has now decided to revise the rules, which are considered excessively stringent, and the Veterinary Committee meeting on 19 February is set to approve a decision significantly raising the limit values for toxins which, once published, will apply in all the Member States with effect from March.

This good news will have a significant impact on European regions which depend heavily on fishing, and on an industry which has been hit particularly hard by the crisis. It will also have positive implications for consumers, who will be able to obtain this product with the best possible guarantees.

By how much will the Commission raise the limit values for toxins, and in what parts of molluscs? What methods will be used for the corresponding analyses? Will the Commission carry out specific campaigns directed at consumers and geared to enhancing the value of this product?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(5 March 2002)

Council Directive 91/492/EEC of 15 July 1991 lays down the health conditions for the production and the placing on the market of live bivalve molluscs(1). Chapter V of the Annex to the Directive establishes the limits of Paralytic Shellfish Poison (PSP) and Amnesic Shellfish Poison (ASP). The Directive states that the total PSP content in the edible parts of molluscs must not exceed 80 micrograms per 100 grams of mollusc flesh. For this toxin nothing will be changed.

Concerning ASP, the Directive states that the level of 'amnesic shellfish poison of 20 micrograms per gram must not be exceeded in the edible parts of bivalve molluscs intended for human consumption. For bivalve molluscs belonging to the species Pecten maximus and Pecten jacobaeus, scientific studies showed that with a toxin concentration in the whole body of between 20 and 250 micrograms per gram, with a harvesting regime under certain restrictive conditions and after a total removal of hepatopancreas, soft tissues and any other contaminated part, the concentration of toxin in the edible parts intended for human consumption is normally below the legal limit of 20 micrograms per gram. In the light of recent scientific studies, it is important to allow, at the present time, a higher ASP level for the harvesting of bivalve molluscs belonging to the species referred to above, under a specific Commission Decision limited to this objective. The purpose of the Decision is to allow the harvesting of bivalve molluscs belonging to the species Pecten maximus and Pecten jacobaeus with a higher level of ASP in the whole body while maintaining the legal limit of ASP in the edible parts. Only after total removal of contaminated parts and under certain conditions, can these molluscs be placed on the market for human consumption.

The analytical method will be, for ASP, the High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) as foreseen in Council Directive 91/492/EEC. For PSP, the analytical method will be the biological testing method, in association, if necessary, with a chemical method for detection of Saxitoxin as foreseen in Council Directive 91/492/EEC.

No specific campaigns directed to the European consumers to reclaim this product have been foreseen by the Commission.

(1) OJ L 268, 24.9.1991.