Publication of the joint FAO-WHO Report on Ciguatera Poisoning

On 9 June, the Joint FAO-WHO Report of the Expert Meeting on Ciguatera Poisoning (CP), Rome 19–23 November 2018, has been published as part of the AG Food Safety and Quality Series. 

In 2015, FAO organized an interagency meeting to discuss CP as an increasing food safety threat. At the meeting, a plan of action was defined and the need for international‑level guidance was identified.

At the Thirty‑second Session of the Codex Committee on Fisheries and Fishery Products (2016), the Pacific Nations raised CP as an issue that increasingly affects the tropical and subtropical regions of the Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Caribbean Sea, between the latitudes 35°N and 35°S. Indeed, it was noted that, due to climate change, the frequency of storms and hurricanes is increasing, as is the sea surface temperature, which affects the distribution and proliferation of ciguatoxins (CTXs) and makes the occurrence of CP less predictable.

In addition to climate change, globalization of trade might also contribute to the spread of CTXs. As such, further guidance is needed for those countries that have not previously considered CTXs in their risk management programmes.

The importance of Ciguatera Poisoning (CP) as one of the most common foodborne illnesses related to finfish consumption was included in the agenda of the Eleventh Session Codex Committee on Contaminants in Foods (CCCF). The Committee requested scientific advice from FAO/WHO (JECFA) in order to develop an appropriate global risk management strategy.

As a result, the Joint FAO-WHO Report on Ciguatera Poisoning was elaborated. The report includes a full evaluation of known ciguatoxins (toxicological assessment and exposure assessment), geographic distribution and rate of illness, congeners and detection methods. Experts belonging to the EuroCigua project, coming from Spain, Germany, France and Japan were involved in the elaboration of this report. The EuroCigua project co-funded by EFSA and coordinated by AESAN is mentioned as a project for the characterization of ciguatera risk in Europe. 

Please download the Report here.