Thermal processing induced release and degradation of paralytic shellfish toxin from mussels Mytilus edulis

Understanding the risk factors associated with shellfish consumption is a relevant public health concern because of the potential adverse effects of paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs). This work aims to study the effects of the five most common heating treatments (steaming, boiling, frying, water-bath heating, and microwaving), for different processing times and temperature/power settings, on the content of PSTs in mussels ( Mytilus edulis ) collected in Qinhuangdao, China. The toxin concentration, removal percentages, and toxin distribution in the cooking liquor and meat were examined. The five processing modes effectively accelerated toxin release into the cooking liquor. The average percentage removal was 73.53%±16.50% from tissues. Microwaving led to the most significant toxin degradation among the methods tested. These findings should facilitate risk assessment of PSTs in mussels.