Dar seafood ppp standard

Table 3: Ranking of food-borne hazards by severity of adverse health effects

Severity	Description	Food-borne hazards in seafood
Moderate	Not usually life threatening; no sequelae; normally short duration; symptoms are self-limiting; can include severe discomfort.	Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxin	Histamine
		Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli	Vibrio parahaemolyticus
		Enterotoxigenic E. coli	Zinc*
		V. cholerae non-O1/non-O139	Wax esters*
		Norwalk-like viruses (noroviruses)
Serious	Incapacitating but not life threatening; sequelae infrequent; moderate duration.	Non-typhoid Salmonella spp.	Yersinia spp.
		Non-dysenteric Shigella spp.	Listeria monocytogenes
		Aeromonas hydrophila*	V. vulnificus*
		Hepatitis A virus	Helminthic parasites*
		Algal biotoxins* (DSP, NSP)	Mercury*
		Ciguatoxin*
Severe	Life-threatening or substantial chronic sequelae or long duration.	General population
		S. Typhi S. Paratyphi	Cadmium*
		Shigella dysenteriae	V. cholerae O1/O139
		Enterohaemorrhagic E. coli	Aflatoxins
		Clostridium botulinum neurotoxin	Arsenic*
		Algal biotoxins* (ASP, PSP)	Lead*
		Cadmium*
		Susceptible populations
		L. monocytogenes	V. vulnificus
		Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli and Enterotoxigenic E. coli	Hepatitis A virus
		Mercury

* Hazards not originally listed in the International Commission on Microbiological Specifications for Foods severity ranking table.
Key: ASP = amnesic shellfish poison; DSP = diarrhoetic shellfish poison; NSP = neurotoxic shellfish poison; PSP = paralytic shellfish poison.
See Appendix 4 for discussion of the different severity rankings amongst the algal biotoxins.

Likelihood of adverse health effects

The estimate of the likelihood of adverse health effects takes into consideration relevant available data and information on:

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  the link between the hazard and illness due to consumption of the particular seafood (epidemiological data)
  
• 
  the prevalence and concentration or level of the hazard in seafood
  
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  patterns of consumption of the specific seafood (that is, frequency of consumption, amount eaten)
  
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  the impact of existing regulatory and non-regulatory risk management systems
  
• 
  data and information on the following factors related to the properties of the hazard and the effect of production, processing and handling, particularly in terms of how they might influence hazard levels at the point of consumption:
  

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  the capacity for microbiological pathogens to survive or grow in the commodity
  
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  any other relevant properties of the hazard (for example, toxigenic or infectious dose)
  
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  the probable effect of production, processing and handling on the presence and level of the hazard
  
• 
  the likely effect of consumer handling (including cooking and product shelf life) on hazard levels.
  

Epidemiological data

Australian and overseas epidemiological evidence of food-borne illness resulting from consumption of a particular seafood commodity demonstrates observed risk, and is accorded the highest weighting in considering the likelihood of adverse health effects. Where available, Australian epidemiological data were considered to be of greater relevance than those from overseas. However, it is important to note the limitations of existing epidemiological data on seafood-borne illness in Australia.

The hazards listed as ‘moderate’ in Table 3 result in self-limiting illnesses of short duration and tend to be poorly reported in all epidemiological datasets. This is emphasised by United States data that shows even quite severe illnesses are significantly under-reported or are not traced back to a particular hazard and/or food source [20]. In cases where an epidemiological link is established, the strength of the linkage is expressed as an odds ratio. The strength of that ratio indicates the likelihood that the linkage is true. It is understood that there is a great deal of uncertainty with this form of data.