Transmissibility of anisakid allergenic peptides from animal feed to chicken meat: Proof of concept

Background and aim: The nematodes Anisakis simplex and Pseudoterranova decipiens, are zoonotic parasites infecting many marine fish and pose a substantial human health risk. Besides being causative agents for gastrointestinal disease after ingestion of a live larva, and an allergic reaction after consuming/handling infected fish, there is proof-of-principle for hidden allergic concerns. Several anisakid allergens are highly resistant, and in this way may be transmitted to meat by use of fishmeal as a feed component for livestock. To consolidate this hypothesis of transmissibility, a controlled chicken feeding trial using Anisakidae-contaminated feed was conducted.Methods: Anisakid larvae were collected from codfish and freeze-dried according to fishmeal manufacturing conditions. This larvaemeal was then administered to chickens, and after three weeks of exposure, blood and muscle samples were subjected to a targeted proteomic analysis aiming at detecting anisakid peptides. Results and discussion: Results demonstrated that peptides from at least six A. simplex allergens were transferred from the feed to the chicken meat and blood. If future experiments confirm a remaining allergenic potency of these peptides in humans, it would significantly change the importance of these zoonotic nematodes from originally a purely fishborne food risk to potentially a wider risk from several food sources.

Automated summary

This study conducted a controlled feeding trial using Anisakidae-contaminated feed on chickens and found that peptides from Anisakis simplex allergens can be transferred from the feed to the chicken meat and blood. If future experiments confirm the allergenic potency of these peptides in humans, it would expand the risk of Anisakis and Pseudoterranova infections beyond fishborne food.