The Liver of the Aquacultured Japanese Pufferfish) (NaturalToxins)

摘要

Pufferfish is categorized as one of foods which contain or are covered with toxicor harmful substances or are suspected to contain or be covered with suchsubstances” in Article 6, Item (ii) of the Food Sanitation Act (Act No. 233 ofDecember 24, 1947). The issue, however, stipulates in the proviso “that thisshall not apply to cases where the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW)specifies that such articles involve no risk to human health”. Based on theproviso, the pufferfish species and the edible parts, which involve no risk tohuman health, were specified in the notice titled “New Rules for Measures toSecure Sanitation Regarding Pufferfish”. Currently, the liver of Japanesepufferfish (Takifugu rubripes, hereinafter referred to as “Torafugu”) is notincluded in the notice, thus shall not be sold based on Article 6, Item (ii) ofthe Act. A proposal to add the liver of Torafugu as a food which involves norisk to human health, as one of the cases stipulated in the proviso, wassubmitted to the MHLW. In response to the request from MHLW, Food SafetyCommission of Japan (FSCJ) conducted a risk assessment on the liver of Torafuguthat is aquacultured and served to the customer under the controlled proceduresproposed by Saga prefecture and a business operator in the prefecture(hereinafter referred to as “the specified operator”). The proposed proceduresare: 1) Torafugu is aquacultured on land under the control of the specifiedoperator. 2) Using a HPLC-FL method, TTX level of a part of liver tissue fromevery Torafugu fish is determined. 3) Only the liver showing below the detectionlimit of TTX will be served exclusively in the restaurants managed by thespecified operator. FSCJ conducted the risk assessment mainly from the viewpoints; 1) toxificating mechanisms of Torafugu, as well as hazards and riskcontrol points in the on-land aquaculture, 2) validity of the HPLC-FL method forTTX analysis, 3) reliability of the sampling part for TTX-level determination,4) acceptability of exclusive determination of TTX. Based on the currentfindings and data in the documents submitted, FSCJ concluded that the safety ofthe liver of Torafugu aquacultured on land through the proposed procedures couldnot be secured, even with the determination of TTX in the individual liver.