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PORTSIDE CULTURE

SEAFOOD IS GETTING RISKIER TO EAT DUE TO CLIMATE CHANGE  
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Stacey Leasca
July 26, 2024
Food & Wine
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_ Both the European Food Safety Authority the U.S. Department of
Agriculture warn that increasing sea surface temperatures can expand
the range and season of Vibrio infections making seafood potentially
more dangerous for human consumption. _

High heat can make seafood more dangerous for human consumption. ,
Food & Wine, Getty Images

 

On Monday, July 22, the Earth experienced its warmest day in recent
history, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service
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On that day, the daily global average temperature reached 17.15°C
(62.87°F), an increase from the previous record of 17.09°C
(62.76°F) set just the day prior, on July 21, 2024. All this extra
heat is wreaking havoc on the planet, including making seafood
potentially more dangerous for human consumption. 

"The prevalence of Vibrio [bacteria] in seafood is expected to
increase both globally and in Europe because of climate change,
especially in low-salinity or brackish waters," the European Food
Safety Authority succinctly stated in its new report. It added that
"resistance to last-resort antibiotics is increasingly found in some
Vibrio species." Vibrio, or V. vulnificus, the Cleveland Clinic
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is a type of bacteria that can enter the human body after eating
“uncooked or undercooked shellfish" or through an open wound in
brackish water (the water found in areas where rivers meet the sea).
The bacteria, it noted, can “lead to sepsis, shock, and large,
spreading blisters that destroy tissues.” And while right now the
bacteria is rare, the medical journal StatPearls
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vulnificus “has the highest number of seafood-related deaths in the
United States.”  

As you may recall, in 2023, an outbreak of Vibrio
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the U.S., causing numerous illnesses and one death in Connecticut, New
York, and North Carolina. The Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention
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in the conclusion of its investigation, "A notable feature of these
cases, beyond their severe clinical outcomes, is that they occurred in
the wake of record-breaking U.S. heat waves. Although these cases
reported during July–August cannot be solely attributed to the heat
waves, the relationship between vibriosis incidence and environmental
conditions favorable to Vibrio growth, namely elevated water surface
temperatures and low salinity, is well-documented."

Experts, including seafood purveyors, do all they can to prevent its
spread, including harvesting shellfish in shaded areas, flash
freezing, and maintaining cooler temperatures throughout the transport
of the products. 

To determine just how dire the situation can become if global
temperatures continue to rise, the European Food Safety
Authority reviewed data
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the last twenty years and "found in approximately 20% of the tested
seafood samples, with one out of five positive samples containing
pathogenic strains." 

It added that due to the increase in extreme weather events, Europe
specifically has seen a rise in Vibrio infections. 

"Warmer coastal waters have led to an expansion of areas where Vibrio
bacteria can multiply, resulting in a higher risk of infections from
the consumption of contaminated seafood, it stated. Like in the U.S.,
vulnerable regions include those with brackish or low-salinity waters
(the Baltic Sea, Baltic and North Sea transitional waters, and the
Black Sea) and coastal areas.

European waters are not alone in this threat. In 2023, the U.S.
Department of Agriculture also stated that climate change "is
expected" to both expand the range and season of Vibrio infections due
to sea surface temperatures rising, and to also increase the cost of
treatment. It noted that U.S. cases of illness from Vibrio infections
"may increase 50% by 2090" compared to 1995 case rates "with moderate
increases in greenhouse gas concentrations." however, it added that
Vibrio infections may increase by "more than 100% if global warming is
not mitigated." The annual total cost of these illnesses will more
than double to $6.1 billion in 2090 under the lower emissions scenario
and more than triple to nearly $8.6 billion under the higher emissions
scenario. It added, "Across both scenarios, about 95% of total costs
are attributable to deaths caused by Vibrio infections." 

And really, this week's intensely warm weather isn't a one-off. As the
Copernicus Climate Change Service also reported that prior to July
2023, the previous daily global average temperature record was 16.8°C
(62.24°F), which the Earth hit on August 13, 2016. However, since
July 3, 2023 "there have been 58 days that have exceeded that previous
record."  

* seafood
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* Climate Change
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* human diet
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