Login Register

Access the GIFSQ Portal

Select your user type to log in or register a new account.

Student Portal

Access your food safety courses, certifications, and exams.

Instructor Portal

Manage courses, view student submissions, and grade quizzes.

Company Portal

Manage corporate setup, view employee logs, and access QA services.

Shellfish poisoning is the illness caused by eating shellfish contaminated with natural marine biotoxins, the same condition as paralytic shellfish poisoning in its most notorious form. Filter-feeding bivalves, mussels, clams, oysters, and scallops, concentrate toxins produced by algal blooms, and cooking does not destroy them. Paralytic poisoning brings tingling, numbness, and in severe cases respiratory paralysis; related syndromes cause diarrhoea, vomiting, memory loss, or neurological symptoms depending on the toxin. There is no antidote, so prevention is everything: harvesting waters are monitored, beds are closed during toxic blooms, and commercial shellfish are tested before sale. Gathering wild shellfish from unmonitored shores is the classic route to poisoning.