Analysis of Diarrhetic Shellfish Toxin Using Triple Quadrupole LC/MS/MS (LCMS-8050)

Introduction

The Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (JMHLW) specified in July, 1980 that the mouse bioassy (MBA) be used as the official method for diarrhetic shellfish toxin, and that the permissible exposure limit be 0.05 MU per gram of edible shellfish*). Shellfish in which the toxin exceeds this limit are prohibited from being sold at market according to the Japanese Food Sanitation Law Article 6, Item 2. Due to significant technological advances since 1980, the sensitivity and accuracy obtained using the MBA method are significantly inferior compared to the high-precision, high-sensitivity possible using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry analytical instrumentation, which is currently used for this application. A complete transition to instrumental analysis for lipophilic marine biotoxins is scheduled to be implemented by January 2015 throughout the EU. Based on this international trend, the JMHLW is currently considering migration to an instrumental analysis assay and setting new reference values to be used with instrumental analysis, in addition to the introduction of the Codex standard for okadaic acids.

April 16, 2015 GMT