Ciguatera

Running head: Ciguatera: A Seafood Poisoning Problem











CIGUATERA: A SEAFOOD POISONING PROBLEM
Oscar L. Rohena Santiago
801-74-8863
SAAM 6545 –Food Hygiene
October 24, 2001


Introduction
Seafood poisoning covers a broad area and is caused by a variety of low molecular weight toxins coming from a wide variety of sources. Theses diseases result from the ingestion of fish, which have accumulated toxins of bacterial or algal origin (Juranovic and Park 1991).
The best-known seafood poisonings are, pufferfish poisoning, scombroid fish poisoning, paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP), neurotoxic shellfish poisoning (NSP), diarrheic shellfish poisoning (DSP) and ciguatera (Juranovic and Park 1991).
Pufferfish poison is caused by the biotoxin tetrodoxin, which of is reported to be of bacterial origin (Taylor, 1988). In addition to its presence in certain pufferfish species, it has been identified in certain species of salamanders and octopus. Scombroid fis...