4. Conclusion
In conclusion, this study fills a gap on the knowledge of the
influence of food storage and cooking practices on the levels of the
CYN in edible organisms. Our results show that the recovery of CYN
can be enhanced with frozen storage and its concentration in raw
mussels seems not to represent the total amount of toxin available.
Although there were no significant differences in CYN concentration
in raw, cooked and depurated mussel matrices (flesh), the heat
processing and depuration seem to be suitable procedures to
reduce this toxin in this edible organism through the removal/
renewal of the intervalval fluid. More importantly, in the industry,
these practices can be easily applied and should be considered in
the implementation of HACCP system.
This study also provides the first insights of the effects of human
digestion on CYN. At the concentrations tested, the digestive juices
seem to be effective in the reduction of CYN content, either if it is
present in solution or in raw and steamed mussel matrices. According
to these findings, CYN itself would not represent risk to
human health, which highlights the importance in integrating the
bioaccessibility of CYN as a part of risk assessment, since the toxin
effectively available for absorption seems to be much lower than
the toxin quantified in raw and cooked mussels. Further studies
should be developed to identify the contributing factors of CYN
removal, particularly the role of digestive juices.