London (18 May
2012) –– Humane Society International/Europe welcomes news that the United
Kingdom’s Food Standards Agency has ended all animal testing to screen for
shellfish toxins. The move marks a step forward for science and for consumers,
and will spare approximately 7,000 mice used in UK testing each year. The
decision comes ahead of a European Union-wide 2014 deadline requiring all
member countries to end the testing. However, HSI Europe says all EU countries
must now follow Britain’s lead and end the suffering of mice subjected to
shellfish toxicity testing.
Last year, the
EU revised its shellfish-testing regulations to accept the use of non-animal
tests for most toxins, but gave member countries until December 2014 to
comply. HSI believes prolonging the use of animal tests for toxin screening is
unjustified and puts consumer health at risk.
“Humane Society International applauds the UK Food
Standards Agency for being pro-active ahead of the 2014 deadline and replacing
animal testing for shellfish with methods that are at the cutting-edge of
safety testing,” said Troy Seidle, director of research and toxicology for HSI
Europe. “Mice used in these tests can die one of the most agonizing deaths
imaginable, many of them suffocating as the toxins starve their lungs of
oxygen. These tests are unreliable as well as unethical, so there is now no
excuse for other EU member countries to delay better protecting consumers by
also switching to superior animal-free tests.”
The FSA
traditionally used mice to test shellfish samples for paralytic and lipophilic
toxins that are harmful to humans; however, the agency will now switch
completely to more advanced and sensitive physicochemical test methods. As well
as the ethical advantage of animal-free testing, the new methods for detecting
toxins produce a more targeted analysis.
Testing seafood samples for potentially harmful toxins
is essential to protect human health. However, the mouse test can cause severe
animal suffering and has serious scientific limitations that have contributed
to it being abandoned altogether in some countries such as Germany. Austria, Finland,
Poland, Portugal and Romania are amongst other countries that do not use the
test.
Nearly 600,000 mice are used each year in the EU in
laboratory tests to detect marine bio-toxins. Countless more are used each year
in North America and elsewhere in the world where precise statistics are not
kept.
Furthermore,
the test used on mice has never undergone
formal scientific validation. Experts from around the world, including the
World Health Organisation, acknowledge that its lack of sensitivity means it
cannot detect toxins at levels required by EU regulators to deem shellfish safe
for human consumption.
Notes to Editors
- Mice
are injected in the abdomen with extracts of shellfish meat, which if
contaminated can result in extreme pain, uncontrollable muscle spasm,
convulsions, and often death from paralysis or lack of oxygen. Pain relief is
not provided.
- Scientific
weaknesses of the mouse bioassay test have been highlighted by numerous bodies
such as the World Health Organisation and the European Food Safety Authority. A
briefing sheet of referenced quotes is available on request
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