Seafood Safety and Human Health Implications

Current projections for the twenty-first century show that global warming will accelerate, with stronger storms, extreme precipitation, dry spells and rising sea levels as the primary symptoms. Such changes will have implications in seafood production, security, and safety, as well as in human health, due to the increase in the frequency of harmful algal blooms, levels and bioaccumulation of several chemical contaminants, prevalence and virulence of common foodborne pathogenic microorganisms. The Mediterranean will be particularly affected by climate change due to water scarcity in the region. Assuring seafood safety in such scenario requires the active involvement of all stakeholders to elaborate and implement adaptation and mitigation plans. In this context, the current chapter aims to provide an overview of the potential effects of climate change in the Mediterranean seafood safety and human health, taking into account chemical and biological contaminants, and to discuss potential adaptation and mitigation measures.