Presence of Anisakis pegreffii in farmed sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax L.) commercialized in Southern Italy: A first report

Abstract

We examined 151 European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax L.) samples from farms and fish markets of Sicily (Southern Italy) for Anisakidae larvae detection. All the samples were examined by visual inspection and modified chloro-peptic digestion. Two nematode larvae were found in the viscera of only one European sea bass sample from a farm located in Greece (FAO 37.3), giving a total prevalence of infestation of 0.7%. No other parasites were found after chloro-peptic digestion of the samples. The larvae were morphologically ascribed, at genus level, to morphotypes I and molecularly identified as Anisakis pegreffii. To the best if our knowledge, this is the first report on the presence of anisakid parasites in farmed European sea bass of Mediterranean Sea. Our findings suggest that the risk of exposure to Anisakidae nematodes in farmed European sea bass remains very low. However, further data on Mediterranean farms are needed to have a detailed risk analysis.

Negligible risk of zoonotic anisakid nematodes in farmed fish from European mariculture, 2016 to 2018

“…A recent report in 2016 of two larvae of A. pegreffii identified in the visceral organs of one farmed European seabass commercialised in southern Italy [13], confirmed the susceptibility of this species to Anisakis spp. infections [31][32][33].…”

“…So far, the presence of larval stages of zoonotic Anisakidae, mostly Anisakis, but also less importantly Pseudoterranova and Contracaecum, has been widely documented in wild fish populations [4,6]. In farmed fish, however, it is rarely observed, with few reports in different fish species cultured worldwide [7][8][9][10][11][12][13]. According to the "Scientific Opinion on risk assessment of parasites in fishery products" provided by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in 2010, the risk of the presence of zoonotic helminths should currently only be considered as negligible for farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), based on evidence produced by a number of scientific and technical documents.…”

A case study on farmed European seabass and gilthead seabream in central Italy: The negligible parasitological risk of nematode larvae paves the way for the freezing derogation

“…The absence of ascaridoid nematodes in farmed gilthead seabream and European seabass analysed during self-control procedures from 2016 to 2019 agrees with the results obtained for farmed species from the bibliographic analysis (Table 2). In fact, the only ascaridoid nematodes found in Mediterranean Sea in the examined species were: two larvae of A. pegreffii in 68 European seabass from Greek farm (Cammilleri et al, 2018), 1 larva of H. fabri in 140 European seabass from Italy (Fioravanti et al, 2021) and Contracaecum sp. (prevalence around 15%) in both species from Sardinia (Salati et al, 2013).…”

Validation of a Commercial Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP) Assay for the Rapid Detection of Anisakis spp. DNA in Processed Fish Products

“…All the processed fish samples used for the method optimisation and validation came from a large-scale distribution, in order to reduce any bias from local food specialities and extend the range of validation. Homogenised farmed trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss; n = 40), homogenised farmed sea bream (Saprus aurata; n = 40), and homogenised farmed salmon (Salmo salar; n = 40) were chosen as naturally negative (noncontaminated by Anisakis) samples [4,21,[37][38][39]; whereas anchovy (Engraulis encreasicolus) paste (n = 40), anchovy in oil (n = 40), and salted sardines (Sardina pilchardus; n = 40) samples were chosen as positive samples for the validation of the method and for matrix effects evaluation. All the processed fish samples came from Italian supermarkets.…”

“…The Anisakidae family includes a vast number of parasites with a worldwide distribution. The life-cycle of Anisakidae nematodes involves invertebrates, fish, cephalopods, and marine mammals so these parasites can be found in the muscles and viscera of numerous fish and cephalopod species [1][2][3][4][5]. In the Mediterranean, the Anisakis spp.…”