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Detection of Proteins from the Fish Parasite Anisakis simplex in Norwegian Farmed Salmon and Processed Fish Products

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Abstract

Wild-caught marine fish are potentially carrying parasites. Larvae of the nematode Anisakis simplex (herring or whale worm) occur in almost all commercially exploited fish stocks in temperate seas. The presence of A. simplex in fish and fish products is not only an economic concern but represents a significant consumer health risk. Anisakiasis, human infection with live larvae, can occur by consuming raw or undercooked fish while allergy symptoms can also be elicited by the presence of A. simplex proteins in processed seafood. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has concluded in a scientific opinion that routine testing of seafood products for A. simplex is needed. In the present study, we have determined A. simplex proteins in farmed salmon intended for use in sushi and fish products from the Norwegian market by quantitative sandwich ELISA, immunostaining and mass spectrometry. Analytical methods detecting anisakid proteins at the single-digit milligram level appear to be sufficiently sensitive for the protection of allergic consumers. Only trace amounts (<10 mg/kg) were detected in a few samples showing that contamination with A. simplex is apparently not an immediate health problem given the results from this survey.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Dr. Arne Levsen from the National Institute of Nutrition and Seafood in Bergen, Norway, for the sourcing and characterisation of Anisakis simplex third-stage larvae. We greatly appreciate Marianne Werner from the Norwegian Veterinary Institute for preparing the protein extracts and Dr. Jan Haug Anonsen from the University of Oslo for supporting the mass spectrometry analysis. We are also very grateful to Dr. Alvaro Daschner from the Instituto de Investigacion Sanitaria at the Hospital Universitario de La Princesa in Madrid, Spain, for providing serum from a patient with allergy to A. simplex. Special thanks also to Sylvi Anita Olsen from the Norwegian Food Safety Authority for good cooperation and coordination of the sushi study. The Orkla Foundation, Norway, has funded this project.

Conflict of Interest

Christiane Kruse Fæste declares that she has no conflict of interest. Christin Plassen declares that she has no conflict of interest. Kjersti Eriksen Løvberg declares that she has no conflict of interest. Anders Moen declares that he has no conflict of interest. Eliann Egaas declares that she has no conflict of interest. This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects.

Ethics Requirements

The polyclonal antibodies were produced in a previous project (for details, see Werner et al. 2011) in rabbits in accordance with the Norwegian guidelines for the care and use of laboratory animals.

Human serum was obtained and used by informed consent in a previous study (for details, see Fæste et al. 2014) in accordance with the ethical standards of the Hospital Universitario de La Princesa in Madrid, Spain.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Norwegian Veterinary Institute, P.O. Box 750, Sentrum, 0106, Oslo, Norway

    Christiane Kruse Fæste, Christin Plassen, Kjersti E. Løvberg & Eliann Egaas

  2. University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

    Anders Moen

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  1. Christiane Kruse Fæste
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Correspondence to Christiane Kruse Fæste.

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Fæste, C.K., Plassen, C., Løvberg, K.E. et al. Detection of Proteins from the Fish Parasite Anisakis simplex in Norwegian Farmed Salmon and Processed Fish Products. Food Anal. Methods 8, 1390–1402 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12161-014-0003-8

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