Aida Zuberovic Muratovic
My research interest focus on development of chemical methods for analysis of marine biotoxins (MB) in bivalve molluscs. These include different types of mussels and oysters harvested for human consumption along the west coast in Sweden, from Orust and to the border with Norway.
When harvesting mussels and other marine species for human consumption, the presence of MB is a recurring problem. MB is a large and multifaceted group of natural chemical compounds, usually produced by microalgae or certain marine bacteria, and can be very toxic to humans. Mussels feed by filtering seawater that contains nutrients. A mussel filters about 20 L of seawater per hour, whereby MB accumulate in mussel if the toxin-producing algae / bacteria are present in the sea where mussels grow. Consumption of shellfish that contain MB may lead to food poisoning in humans, resulting in different symptoms depending on the type and the amount of toxin that the shellfish contains.
According to EU legislation, the presence of known variants of MB must be monitored in many seafood products to ensure the safety of their consumption. My responsibility, within the national reference laboratory (NRL) for monitoring of MB at the Swedish Food Agency, is to ensure the optimal performance of the analytical methods used in monitoring of shellfish in Sweden.
As the sea changes with the climate, the changes lead to increased occurrence and variation of MB, while the demand for food from the sea increases. In addition, there is the need to achieve the Sustainability Development Goals (Agenda 2030). In this context, the cultivation of shellfish and new aquaculture products plays an important role for the climate and the environment, but also for an increased degree of self-sufficiency in Sweden.
"To measure is to know" is a well-known quote. Research in method development of new analytical methods is therefore the only way to increase the knowledge about the variation and occurrence of new MB variants in Swedish aquaculture products, and thereby too ensure that the future seafood will be free from toxins.
Find out more about my research:
- Multi-Toxin Quantitative Analysis of Paralytic Shellfish Toxins and Tetrodotoxins in Bivalve Mollusks with Ultra-Performance Hydrophilic Interaction LC-MS/MS-An In-House Validation Study. Fadillah Putri Patria, Heidi Pekar, Aida Zuberovic-Muratovic. DOI: 10.3390/toxins12070452
- Searching for the blowfish poison in Swedish mussels (on YouTube)
- Regarding mussles and oysters at the Swedish Food Agency's website (in Swedish).