French Food and Agriculture Minister Bruno Le Maire is calling on the European Commission to kick-start a new protocol that would replace the "mouse test" currently used to determine whether oysters are safe to eat.
"We are in the 21st century and should be able to find a test that works better than the mouse test, and that is what I have asked the commission," Le Maire told Arcachon Bay oyster farmers last week.
The only EC-sanctioned oyster test, the mouse bioassay method detects the presence of toxins in bivalves, such as oysters, clams and mussels, that could be harmful to consumers.
For the test, three mice receive an injection containing an extract from the digestive glands of bivalves. If two or three mice die within 24 hours of the injection, the shellfish are considered unhealthy and the area from which they were harvested is shut down, according to AFSSA, France's food-safety agency.
In 2008, oyster producers in Arcachon Bay - a key oyster-producing area in western France - were hit with a series of bans on the sale and consumption of their oysters following the discovery of unsafe microalgae levels. Already this year, a ban on the sale and consumption of oysters has been issued three times in Arcachon Bay.
Le Maire underlined the need for a new test that all European oyster farmers would be subject to, which would "guarantee the same level of food security." The minister admitted that, despite its faults, the mouse test is currently the best available way to test oysters for unsafe toxin levels.
The French government recently called on the industry to develop alternatives to the mouse test. Following a review of the criteria, AFSSA issued a statement last month that said, "Considering the current state of knowledge the mouse bioassay should remain the decisive test."
July 16, 2009
