Feasibility of reduction in use of the mouse bioassay: presence/absence screening for saxitoxin in frozen acidified mussel and oyster extracts from the coast of California with in vitro methods.

In the United States, the detection of paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) for regulatory purposes relies on the mouse bioassay (MBA). Using a saxitoxin presence/absence test could reduce animal usage significantly. Three in vitro methods, the RIDASCREEN Saxitoxin kit, MIST Alert, and a 5 h neuroblastoma assay, were evaluated in parallel with the MBA using 106 twice-frozen, acidified extracts from California-grown mussel and oyster tissues.