Advanced Tests about New Toxins appeared in Atlantic Area

Programme 2007 - 2013 Atlantic Area

Date of latest update: 2021-04-06

Description

Description (EN):

The effects of climate change and global temperature rising are imminent, irreversible and they impact directly or indirectly on the marine environment and population. Marine ecosystems are under the effects produced by fluctuation in water temperature; this is responsible for the settlement of favorable ecological conditions for toxins reproduction. Although the Atlantic area coast is not probably the most affected by the negative influence of climate changes, with more pressing in warmer waters, its effects are already visible and worrying, requiring actions to ensure optimum levels of food safety for people of this coastal area and to minimize the further impact of its consequences in other sectors such as fisheries or tourism. Toxic episodes are a major public health problem whose impact is moved to areas such as tourism and a reduced consumption of seafood. Many local economies of this coast space are subjected to uncertainty to rely upon live resources that are experiencing intense natural variability. Referring to this, the priority is presented to tackle the appearing and multiplying of marine biotoxins, it is to determine and ensure an effective control system detecting them, a fast and reliable one. The current mode of reference in the European Union, the mouse bioassay, it is not sufficiently sensitive, shows a significant change, requires time, is vulnerable to interference and is unethical in terms of animal welfare. The main objective of this project is to support and accelerate the development and introduction of a proper and efficient method of fast alternative controlling based on antibodies and functional tests for biotoxins.

Achievements (EN):

The ATLANTOX project focused on the detection of new toxins emerging along the European coasts of the Atlantic Ocean and which are not regulated in the EU: spirolide, palytoxins and tetrodotoxins. Its main objective was to support and accelerate the development and introduction of an alternative, proper and efficient fast control method for these biotoxins, based on antibodies and functional tests. This project has mapped the risk of spirolides, ciguatoxins, tetrodotoxins and palytoxins and their analogues, ostreocins, in the South of Europe. The results clearly showed that ciguatoxin is an emerging risk to certain large fish of the Barracuda group in the Atlantic South of Europe, and that spirolides are a chronic presence in any sample taken in molluscs in any location. The project has also clearly demostrated that tetrodotoxin is a presence in gasteropods in the Atlantic South of Europe, and that palytoxin and ostreocins are a growing problem linked to warm waters, and that have so far been detected in the Mediterranean South of Spain and in the Atlantic South of Portugal. Given the extreme potency and danger of these compounds, the project aimed to develop fast methods for the quick, easy and inexpensive detection of all three toxin types. Two different technological solutions were developed for tetrodotoxin and palytoxins, and one for ciguatoxins. The project has also provided valuable information about the pharmacodynamics of toxins and their toxicological profiles, as well as on how to use metodological resources of analyses, currently available regarding control in laboratories with regard to food safety, especially concerning what problems may arise from the use of mass spectrometry for marine toxin detection and how to avoid these problems. Overall, this project has provided the scientific community, food safety operators and legislators with valuable new information about the new presence of these toxins in Europe, and with tools to counteract their presence in the food chain. ATLANTOX thus contributed towards understanding the impact of emerging toxins on the Atlantic coast and developing monitoring and control strategies.

Website: http://www.coop-atlantico.com/

Thematic information

Coastal management and maritime issues Sustainable management of natural resources New products and services

Partners (7)

Lead Partner: University of Santiago de Compostela

Address: Dept Farmacología.Fac Veterinaria-Campus de Lugo s/n, 27002 Lugo, Spain

Legal status: n/a

Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research

Name: Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research

Address: Rua dos Bragas N289, 4050-123 Porto, Portugal

Legal status: n/a

National Association of Fish and Seafood Cannery Manufacturers

Name: National Association of Fish and Seafood Cannery Manufacturers

Address: Estrada do colexio universitario Nº16, 36310 Vigo, Spain

Legal status: n/a

Centre National de Recherche Scientifique (FRANCE)

Name: Centre National de Recherche Scientifique (FRANCE)

Address: Avenue de la Terrasse - Bât 32-33, 91198 Gif sur Yvette, France

Legal status: n/a

Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute

Name: Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute

Address: STORMONT STONEY ROAD, BT4 3SD BELFAST, United Kingdom

Legal status: n/a

Queen’s University Belfast

Name: Queen’s University Belfast

Address: IAFLU, David Keir Building, Stranmillis Road, BT9 5AY Belfast, United Kingdom

Legal status: n/a

Cork Institute of Technology

Name: Cork Institute of Technology

Address: Bishopstown, Rossa Ave n/a, N/A Cork, Ireland

Legal status: n/a

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Lead partner

Project partner

Summary

Project name (EN): Advanced Tests about New Toxins appeared in Atlantic Area

Project acronym: Atlantox

Project start date: 2009-01-01

Project end date: 2010-12-31

Project status: closed

Total budget/expenditure: EUR 1 839 463.37

Total EU funding (amount): EUR 1 195 651.18

Co-financing sources:

Information regarding the data in keep.eu on the programme financing this project

Financing programme

2007 - 2013 Atlantic Area

Last month that data in keep.eu was retrieved from the Programme's website or received from the Programme

2015-12-01

No. of projects in keep.eu / Total no. of projects (% of projects in keep.eu)

70 / 70 (100%)

No. of project partnerships in keep.eu / Total no. of project partnerships (% of project partnerships in keep.eu)

655 / 655 (100%)

Notes on the data

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Advanced Tests about New Toxins appeared in Atlantic Area

Description

Thematic information

Partners (7)

Partners map

Summary

Information regarding the data in keep.eu on the programme financing this project

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