date:May 18, 2012
The phasing out of animal testing in the shellfish monitoring programme has been a long-term goal of the FSA. Without an approved alternative method available, tests on mice had previously been the most suitable way of detecting toxins in shellfish. However, the FSA and Cefas (Centre for Environment, Fisheries, and Aquaculture Science) have spent a number of years developing alternative testing methods that do not rely on mice.
Andrew Wadge, Chief Scientist at the Food Standards Agency, said: