**Section 1**

**Risk Assessment in Environmental and Ecosystem Quality** 

**1** 

*France* 

**A Practical Example of Risk** 

Cyndie Picot and Alain-Claude Roudot

**Assessment – Risk Assessment** 

**to Phycotoxins in a Recreational** 

**Shellfish Harvester's Subpopulation** 

*Université Européenne de Bretagne, Université de Bretagne Occidentale (UEB-UBO)* 

The past few decades have seen an increase in the frequency, concentrations, and geographic distribution of marine algal toxins (phycotoxins), secondary metabolites produced by marine microalgae (phytoplankton). Among the 3400–4000 known phytoplankton species, only about 2 % are potentially harmful (Frémy & Lassus, 2001). Bivalve molluscs filter-feed on these micro-algae, accumulate toxins, and may be consumed by humans (Shumway et al,. 1995; Van Dolah, 2000). In order to determine whether phycotoxins are a matter of concern for human health, a risk assessment must be undertaken. It comprises four steps: hazard identification, hazard characterization, exposure

**Hazard identification** is defined as follows: "the identification of biological, chemical and physical agents capable of causing adverse health effects and that may be present in a particular food or group of foods" (CAC, 2006). The outcome is a scientific judgment as to know whether the chemical being evaluated could, under given exposure conditions, cause an adverse effect in humans. In view of reported intoxications and deaths, phycotoxins are identified as a matter of concern for human health. Because of their high and increasing occurrence, their worldwide distribution and their different profile of toxicology and contamination, this chapter focused on two families of phycotoxins: okadaic acid (OA) and analogs, and spirolide (SPX) and analogs (Ade *et al.*, 2003; Hallegraeff, 2003; EFSA, 2008a ;

**Hazard characterization** (also known as dose–response assessment) is defined as: "the qualitative and/or quantitative evaluation of the nature of the adverse health effects associated with biological, chemical, and physical agents that may be present in food" (CAC, 2006). It describes the relationship between the ingested quantity of the substance and the incidence of an adverse health effect (CAC, 2006). The aim is to allocate two

**1. Introduction** 

**2. Risk assessment** 

EFSA, 2010).

assessment and risk characterization (WHO, 1985).

*Laboratoire de Toxicologie Alimentaire et Cellulaire (EA 3880),* 
