Wednesday, January 10, 9:45 – 11:15, Lebanon Room

Moderated by Mohamed Jeebhay

Seafood handling, processing, and packaging workers may be exposed to airborne particles, including particulate matter from seafood, food additives, cleaning agents, soot, and saltwater mist. Evaluations in the bony fish processing industry indicate that the parvalbumin protein is a small component of the particulate matter in the air, it must be specifically measured to determine its presence due to its association with respiratory illness in sensitive people. The amounts of allergens measured are extremely small, often measured in nanograms, such that parvalbumin may make up less than 0.1% of the inhalable particulate concentration. Higher particulate and allergen concentrations have been associated with the use of older processing equipment, the presence of hot processes and/or steam, and the use of pressurized water for cleaning. Currently, there are no established regulatory or health-based exposure limits for exposure to parvalbumin against which to compare sample results. However, air sampling results can be used to identify areas or tasks that have measurable parvalbumin levels, compare them to background values within the industry, and to define jobs with higher concentrations of exposure in order to focus control efforts. Continued assessments will be necessary to determine the impact of other airborne components that may be responsible for adverse health effects including endotoxin, protease enzymes (e.g. Trypsin), histamine, and other allergenic proteins. Control measures include dilution ventilation, isolation of the equipment with curtains, plastic sheeting, and/or fixed enclosures as well as respiratory protection.

As critical infrastructure workers in the food supply chain, seafood processors in the United States continued operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. This worker population consists of low socioeconomic status and im/migrant workers who have been historically marginalized within research and society. Over the course of two years (2021-2023), our team visited six seafood processing factories in Texas and Louisiana to conduct semi-structured in-depth interviews (n=44) and workplace observations. Demographics of participants included women (n=26) and men (n=18) who considered themselves Latino (n=21), American Indian (n=7), White (n=13), Asian (n=2), and Black (n=1). Interview questions centered on workers’ experiences during the pandemic; our goal was to examine how workplace and social factors, including structural/social determinants of health (SDoH), impacted workers’ risks and health outcomes. We conducted qualitative data analysis, using an inductive approach, and triangulated our findings with a focus group comprised of seafood processing workers (n=10). Overarching themes, which directly and indirectly impacted workers’ exposure to and treatment for COVID-19, included the following: housing arrangements; regulatory compliance; and sick leave, as well as one overarching theme specifically for im/migrant workers, clinic access. Although we observed that some managers were ambivalent to workers’ health needs or COVID-19 status, we also found larger systemic factors at play, such as limited access to paid medical leave or an investment in workplace hazard control measures. Based on this evidence, we provide suggestions in each of these areas for improving worker safety and health, which in turn could help to address the stark health disparities in the United States that were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Union Territory of Lakshadweep, India, consists of 36 small islands (of which only ten are considered inhabited) with a total land area of 32 sq. km. These islands are engulfed by protective natural lagoons (about 4200 sq. km) and add 20000 sq. km of territorial waters and 4,00,000 sq. km of Exclusive Economic Zone. The primary tuna resources landed in the islands include Katsuwonus pelamis (86%), Thunnus albacare (12%) and Euthynnus affinis. Pole and line fishing methods account for 97% of the total landings, followed by troll lines. Masmin is a traditional smoked and dried product from skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis) in Lakshadweep, India. Masmin production contributes significantly to the islands’ economy through domestic trade and exports to neighbouring nations. Masmin is prepared from skipjack tuna fillets by cooking in seawater, followed by alternate drying and smoking to a less than 10% moisture content. Due to the heavy smoking practised during its production, masmin may contain contaminants and health hazards. The fishermen dedicate their remaining time after fishing to convert the bulk of their catch to masmin using the traditional crude method. This paper reviews the present processing methods, health risks associated with masmin processing in Lakshadweep Islands, India and the measures adopted in this direction to improve the traditional crude way of masmin processing. There is a need to continuously update the knowledge levels of small-scale tuna fishers of Lakshadweep islands, India, in hygienic handling, adopting improved fish smoking methods, minimizing the health hazards to achieve better health, economic returns and sustainable development of small-scale fisheries in the region.

Introduction: High prevalence of respiratory health issues such as allergies and asthma are observed among shellfish processing workers. This study examined the composition of aerosols generated during shrimp processing and respiratory symptoms in Norwegian shrimp processing plant workers.

Material and methods: The study included 44 shrimp processing workers and 21 administrative workers as controls. Personal exposure measurements were taken during different work tasks, and air samples were collected to measure total protein, proteases, and identify allergens using LC/MS. In addition, questionnaire data and information on differential blood cell count, inflammatory markers, and specific IgE levels against crab, shrimp, and salmon were analyzed.

Result: Work-related respiratory symptoms were prevalent (24 – 29%) among production workers, and 11% of them showed elevated levels of shrimp and crab IgE. The highest total protein levels were measured in the cooking and peeling departments. Known shellfish allergens, e.g., tropomyosin, arginine kinase, myosin light chain, hemocyanin, and eight potential novel allergens were identified. Despite low total protein levels, all work processes showed high levels of the most common allergen, tropomyosin. The cooking and peeling department had the highest tropomyosin concentration (7.07 µg/m3).

Conclusion: Norwegian shrimp processing workers exhibit frequent respiratory problems and elevated blood IgE levels to shrimp and crab allergens. Tropomyosin levels were notably high, especially in cooking and peeling processes, and were poorly reflected by total protein levels. This indicates that total protein measurement offers limited information into relevant exposure in work processes with a high allergen presence.