Atlantic Network of Innovative Toxicity Alert Systems in Safer Marine Products
Main seafood toxins are emerging toxins, non-regulated marine toxins that have proliferated in the Atlantic Area as a consequence of climate change and which are harmful towards public health. ALERTOX-NET aims to facilitate market delivery of safer seafood products by putting at disposal of affected industries a new toxicity alert system for prevention strategies/processes across the value chain. This system consists of cost-effective, easy-to-understand, detection and alert methods, which will facilitate adoption by industry. Furthermore, ALERTOX-NET will recommend a regulatory framework addressed to public agents regarding emerging toxins, including tetrodotoxins, palytoxins and cyclic imines, due to their risks. ALERTOX-NET will have a bottom-up approach: from the “on-the-ground” demonstration in affected industries, to cooperation with Administration to adapt regulations to the risk represented by emerging toxins. The change sought is to provide better and easy-to-use detection and alert systems for emerging toxins so that industries will be prepared to detect those toxins, as well as Public Administrations, which will be involved in ALERTOX-NET, to get the directly required regulatory changes to adapt legislation. Moreover, the alert system will be also developed for toxins that are currently regulated so that industries which are not adapted, e.g. they are not aware of the toxins and methods, can benefit from better protected products for their consumers.