Food Protection Trends - July/August 2019 - 334

GeNeral iNtereSt paper

control of fishborne parasites
in the food industry
Frits Franssen,*1 Cedric gerard,2 stephanie la Carbona,3 lucy j. Robertson4 and Peter Paulsen5
*1

Centre for Zoonotic Diseases and Environmental Microbiology, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Antonie van Leeuwenhoeklaan 9, 3721
MA Bilthoven, The Netherlands

Cédric Gerard, Food Safety Microbiology, Nestlé Research, Vers-chez-les-Blanc, 1000 Lausanne 26, Switzerland

ACTALIA Food Safety Dept., 310 Rue Popielujko, 50000 Saint-Lô, France

Parasitology, Dept. of Food Safety and Infection Biology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Adamstuen Campus, P.O. Box 369

Peter Paulsen, Institute of Meat Hygiene, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Veterinärplatz 1, 1210 Vienna, Austria

Sentrum, 0102 Oslo, Norway

SUMMARY
Fishborne parasites constitute an emerging food safety
issue. Whereas the focus in Europe is on nematode larvae
(Anisakids), human infections with fishborne trematodes
and cestodes are equally prevalent in Asia. Preferences for
eating raw or marinated freshwater fish raised where the
water may be contaminated with feces, may account for that.
Heating (≥ 60°C) and deep-freezing (≤ 20°C), should render
fish products safe for consumption as regards nematodes and
cestodes; less is known about the resistance to freezing of
metacercariae from trematodes. In addition, the potential of
traditional, as well as advanced, methods of food processing
to serve as critical steps in food production chains has
scarcely been explored. The EU COST Action "Euro-FBP:
A European Network for Foodborne Parasites" (https://
eurlp.iss.it/) has aimed at reviewing the current status of
knowledge regarding fishborne parasites and at pointing out
potential deficiencies in control of them in food.
OVERVIEW
Fish constitute an important part of the human diet.
The average annual consumption is ca. 20.8 kg per capita
worldwide, comparable to that of meat, ca. 35 kg per capita
and year (14). Likewise, average annual fish consumption in
high-income countries is in the range of 22.8 (United States
of America; USA) to 24 (European Union, EU-28) kg per
capita. Changes in population and in food preferences make
fishborne parasitic diseases no longer an issue primarily
for low- and medium-income countries (2). Dorny et al.
(3) reviewed the significance of foodborne parasites and
concluded that although such fishborne zoonoses were
common in Asia, changes in aquaculture, food transport
and distribution could increase exposure of consumers
in other regions. These authors considered trematodes,
cestodes and nematodes as most relevant, and, in principle,
this prioritization was confirmed in a ranking of foodborne
parasites (10), in which 5 of the 24 top-ranked foodborne
parasites globally were associated with marine and freshwater
finfish (Anisakidae, Diphyllobothriidae, Heterophyidae, and
*Author for correspondence: Phone: +31 30 2743030; Email: frits.franssen@rivm.nl

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Food Protection Trends July/August

Opistorchiidae) or with freshwater crustacea (Paragonimus
spp.). Not only can risky fish preparation methods and
consumption traditions contribute to infection of local
inhabitants (5), but travelers can acquire a parasitic infection
abroad (4). In fact, fishborne parasites have changed from a
neglected to an emerging food safety issue (15).
Pertinent legislation in the EU and the USA
As the primary responsibility for food safety rests
with food business operators (6), these must consider
implementation of appropriate, HACCP-based control
measures in accordance with the requirements of Regulations
EC No. 853/2004 (as amended by Commission Regulation
EU No. 1276/2011) and 854/2004 (7, 8). In fact, it is
established that fishery products derived from finfish or
cephalopod molluscs, if they are placed on the market and
intended to be eaten raw or if they have been marinated,
salted or treated in another way that is insufficient to kill the
viable parasite, must be produced from raw material that has
undergone deep freezing. Exceptions from this obligation are
as follows: (a) the fishery product undergoes heat treatment
before consumption, (b) it has been stored deep-frozen
for a sufficient period of time, or (c) it originates from wild
catch or aquaculture with some biosecurity precautions (8).
Notably, freezing (-20°C for not less than 24 hrs or -35°C
for not less than 15 hrs.) and heating regimens (60°C core
temperature for not less than 1 min.) have been defined
for "parasites other than trematodes." These requirements
consider the outcome of a risk assessment conducted by the
European Food Safety Authority (9), which focused, on the
basis of availability of data, on Anisakis and which concluded
that "many traditional marinating and cold smoking methods
are not sufficient to kill A. simplex and freezing or heat
treatments remain the most effective processes guaranteeing
killing. All wild-caught seawater and freshwater fish must
be considered at risk of containing any viable parasites of
human health concern if these products are to be eaten raw
or almost raw. For wild-catch fish, no sea fishing grounds
can be considered free of A. simplex." Likewise, in the

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