Anchovy Parasite Risk Determined by Origin
Friday, May 22, 2009

White Anchovies: Blogged with permission from Flickr; Originally uploaded by surfzone™ on May 21, 2009. Click picture for photographer profile.

GENERAL – The Anisakis spp parasite can still be found in one of the most emblematic Mediterranean dishes – anchovies in vinegar.

Spanish researchers have shown the parasites are present at higher levels in anchovies from the south east Atlantic coast and the north eastern Mediterranean, and urge consumers to freeze or cook the fish before eating it.

Although the European Union and Spanish regulations require restaurants to freeze fish that is eaten raw, “people still run the risk of anisakiasis infection from homemade anchovies in vinegar if they have not got into the habit of freezing the fish for at least 24 hours at -20ºC”, according to a team of scientists from the University of Granada (UGR), which has found the larvae of Anisakis spp and another similar parasite, Hysterothylacium aduncum, in anchovies from the west of the Mediterranean Sea and the east of the Atlantic Ocean.

“The risk of developing anisakiasis from eating anchovies (Engraulisencrasicolus) could be affected by the geographical area in which the fish were caught, because there is a great variation in parasitation (average prevalence and intensity) among anchovies from different areas”, Adela Valero, lead author of the study and a researcher at the UGR’s Department of Parasitology, explains to SINC.

The study, which has been published recently in the International Journal of Food Microbiology… See the source (http://tinyurl.com/r56nep) for the full story.

[The article (Rello et al (2009). The fishing area as a possible indicator of the infection by anisakids in anchovies (Engraulisencrasicolus) from southwestern Europe. JFM, 129 (3):277-281) is
accessible at http://tinyurl.com/r74hol.  ADS-Mod.]