Food Protection Trends - July/August 2019 - 336

table 1. published data (original research papers) on inactivation of parasites in fish
and fish products (11, 13)

Treatments

Thermal
treatment

Food commodity
Fresh fish
Frozen raw seafood
Cooked crustaceans
Canned seafood
Cured, smoked and dried seafood
Fermented fish products
Minced fish and surimi products

Freezing

Salting, curing,
marination,
fermentation,
drying

An, Cl, Di, He, Op

An, Cl
Op

High
hydrostatic
pressure

Irradiation
(electron beam
or gamma
irradiation)

An, Cl, Op, Pa

Light grey: possible pre-processing treatment of raw materials; Light green: regular part of the process; if scientific studies on the
effective control of parasites in a food commodity process step combination (i.e., cell) have been published, the parasite
name is inserted in abbreviated form: An: Anisakis; Cl: Clonorchis metacercariae; Di: Diphyllobothrium plerocercoids;
He: Heterophyidae; Op: Opistorchis metacercariae; Pa: Paragonimus metacercariae.

With regard to electron-beam and gamma irradiation,
minimum effective doses of 0.1-2.5 kGy have been reported
for metacercariae embedded in fish flesh, whereas even a dose
of 6 kGy was not effective against Anisakis larvae. Concerning
high-hydrostatic pressure, 100-300 MPa for 5 min reduced
the number of viable Anisakis larvae.
Data are scarce on the effect of food processing technology
on the survival of fishborne parasites (Table 1), and not
all studies report the actual extent of inactivation. Because
HACCP-based systems address other biological hazards
(e.g., bacteria), it is conceivable that some control points are
similar for parasites and that the critical process parameters
could be adjusted to allow for control of both parasitic and
microbial hazards. Admittedly, thermal processes, curing and

drying are to some extent addressed in national guides to
good practice or food codex standards. Nevertheless, in the
course of product development, and because of deliberate or
inadvertent changes in processing parameters as is seen with
the trend toward minimally processed foods, there is a clear
need for more detailed studies on survival of parasites during
fish processing, based on harmonized methods for detection
and viability assessment of parasites.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This paper was elaborated within the framework of EU
COST Action FA 1408, "Euro-FBP: A European Network for
Foodborne Parasites."

REFERENCES
1. Caccio, S. M., R. M. Chalmers, P. Dorny, and
L. J. Robertson. 2018. Foodborne parasites:
outbreaks and outbreak investigations. A
meeting report from the European Network
for Foodborne Parasites (Euro-FBP). Food,
Waterborne Parasitol. 10:1-5

4. Eiras, J. C., G. C. Pavanelli, R. M. Takemoto,
and Y. Nawa. 2017. An overview of fishborne
nematodiases among returned travelers
for recent 25 years-unexpected diseases
sometimes far away from the origin. Korean
J. Parasitol. 56:215-227.

2. Chai J. Y., K. Darwin Murrell, and
A. J. Lymbery. 2005. Fishborne parasitic
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35:1233-1254.

5. Eiras, J. C., G. C. Pavanelli, R. M. Takemoto,
and Y. Nawa. 2018. Fishborne nematodiases
in South America: neglected emerging
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3. Dorny, P., N. Praet, N. Deckers, and
S. Gabriel. 2009. Emerging foodborne
parasites. Vet. Parasitol. 163:196-206.

6. European Commission. 2002. Regulation
(EC) No 178/2002 of the European
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2002 laying down the general principles and
requirements of food law, establishing the

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European Food Safety Authority and laying
down procedures in matters of food safety. OJ
L 31, 1.2.2002, 1-24. Available at: https://
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Accessed 19 February 2019.
7. European Commission. 2004. Regulation
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https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2002/178/oj https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2002/178/oj https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2004/854/oj https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2004/854/oj

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