Chris,
Here's an article by Deborah Smith, Science Writer, that I found on the Web:
Beware the rudderfish in restaurants and shops. It could be escolar - a similar looking but extremely waxy fish that can have the same effect as drinking a couple of spoonfuls of castor oil.
It is suspected that four women who suffered stomach cramps and the runs last week after eating rudderfish in a well-known Sydney restaurant were served escolar.
CSIRO scientists said yesterday they identified the species as the culprit in more than 200 reported cases of fish-related illness in Australia. Their investigation was prompted by an incident in 1999 when half the guests at an Adelaide function were affected after eating rudderfish.
Mr Ben Mooney, of CSIRO Marine Research in Hobart, said they used DNA fingerprinting to identify the problem fish in Adelaide as escolar, not rudderfish. The castor oil-like wax they found in escolar was not harmful, he said. But because it was present in large amounts and was indigestible it could cause loose stools and stomach cramps in some people. "Eating a normal serving of 200 grams of escolar would be the same as eating two tablespoons of liquid wax," he said. Mr Mooney, who spoke at the ScienceNOW! conference in Melbourne, said the research showed that strict naming of seafood was needed to prevent further incidents.
Rudderfish and escolar are both large fish, with white flaky flesh. They are part of the bycatch in tuna fishing.
Also I found an article where Newport Fish Company in the States recalled a batch of Escolar which was frozen. The batch contained large amounts of Histamine, which is caused by Scombroid fish poisoning. This type of fish poisoning is usually associated with fish of the Scombroidae family, namely Tuna, Mackeral, Mahi-Mahi, Bluefish and Amberfish.
Escolar are caught as a by-product of Tuna fishing and from the rapid onset of symptoms you described, it is possibly Scombroid fish poisoning. This poisoning can take as little as 10 minutes to start showing symptoms. It depends on the amount of Histamine that was ingested.
This type of food poisoning is associated with the storage temperature of the fish being too high. Once the histamine is present in the fish, it cannot be destroyed by processing.
Dave Summers.
Food Safety Trainer.
----- Original Message -----
From: Chris Leftwich
To: Seafood email list
Sent: Monday, February 04, 2002 10:48 AM
Subject: Escolar
Dear Listers,
I have had a restaurant on the telephone seeking advice about a complaint they received from a customer who ate Escolar at their restaurant. The complainant and their son-in-law are alleging that within 10 minutes of finishing their meal they were quite ill, sickness and diarrhoea.
Has anyone had any experience of any problems with this fish.
The fish was bought by the restaurant as frozen steaks in sealed vacuum packs and thawed in a refrigerator prior to being cooked.
Any information will be much appreciated.
Thank you in advance
Chris Leftwich
Chief Inspector, Billingsgate Market, London
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