Shellfish are a very popular and nutritious food source worldwide and their consumption has risen dramatically. Because of their unique nature as compared to beef and poultry, shellfish have their own distinct aspects of harvest, processing and handling. Edited by leading authorities in the field, this collection of review papers discusses issues of current interest and outlines steps that can be taken by the shellfish industry to improve shellfish safety and eating quality.Opening chapters provide an overview of the key issues associated with microbial and biotoxin contamination. Parts two and three then address in more detail methods to improve molluscan shellfish and crustacean quality and safety. Chapters focus on detection of algal toxins, monitoring and mitigation of the effects of harmful algal blooms, metals and organic contaminants, biofouling, disease control and selective breeding. Part four reviews legislation, regulation, public confidence in shellfish and risk management. Chapters on post-harvest issues, such as depuration, storage and packaging complete the volume.With its distinguished editors and international team of experts, Shellfish safety and quality is an essential reference for those in the shellfish industry, managers, policymakers and academics in the field. - Reviews the latest research on significant hazards such as microbial and biotoxin contamination - Discusses effective management of shellfish safety and quality, including emerging methods - Examines improved packaging methods

"Presents the contributions made, conclusions reached and the consensus statement agreed upon at a workshop on safe management of shellfish and harvest waters held 30 November - 2 December 2004 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia"--Pref.

Presents quantitative nat. est. of the magnitude of transport's. impacts on the environ. It is the most comprehensive compilation of environmental and transport. data to date. Addresses all primary modes of transport. (highway, rail, aviation, and maritime transport) and all environ'l. media (air, water, and land resources), and covers the full "life-cycle" of transport., from construction of infrastructure and mfg. of vehicles to disposal of vehicles and parts. The impacts of transport. extend beyond the air quality impacts of vehicle travel. Presents a framework for developing various types of indicators and for categorizing transport. activities that affect the environ. Illustrated.

The abundant shellfish populations of the rich brackish waters of the coastal areas have been an important source of food from prehistoric times. Productive shellfish-harvesting waters have been decreasing at an alarming rate in recent times. Currently, of the fifteen million acres of national estuarine waters available for shellfish harvesting, only 64% are classified as approved and the amount of acreage available is decreasing annUally. The remaining areas are classified as prohibited, conditionally approved or restricted. Despite the growing problems, the shellfish industry is of vital importance to the economy of many coastal areas. The safety of molluscan shellfish has been brought into question. The executive summary of the National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine's Report on Seafood Safety, states that "available data from CDC and the Northeast Technical Services Unit (NETSU) of the Food and Drug Administration for 1978-87, as well as literature reports, suggest that the greatest number of seafood associated illnesses are from raw molluscan shellfish harvested in waters contami nated with raw or poorly treated human sewage. The majority of these illnesses have unknown etiologies suggestive of Norwalk or Norwalk-like agents that cause human viral gastroenteritis". In addition, there have been numerous reports on safety problems of raw molluscan shellfish. The safety of raw molluscan shellfish is determined by using environmental indicators of fecal pollution. With respect to shellfish, the indicator concept evolved early this century.

Enteric pathogenic viruses are a major challenge in public health, as they represent a major concern with a severe global impact to the economy, commerce, and health systems. Consequently, their active monitoring can allow preventive surveillance and the discovery of new viruses, exemplifying an important epidemiological and health control tool. In an unprecedented way, this book addresses the general characteristics of enteric viruses and their environmental transmission, with a particular emphasis on their structures, stability, routes of transmission and the use of bioindicators for epidemiological monitoring and control. In addition, this book will also address the recent developments for viral concentration and detection in environmental and food samples and the challenges for the control of environmental and food viruses to reduce microbiological risk for final consumers.