Hey Avril,
I didn't see bunch of responses - in fact, nothing was offered, so I thought
I would throw in my two cents. I have heard for years that Oliva are
poisonous (toxic if eaten, not venomous like cone shells that can be safely
eaten but dangerous to handle because of a venomous sting), but I could find
only a single reference to Oliva poisoning. I found an instance of five
children supposedly dying after eating Oliva vidua fulminans, (Transactions
of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene,
1986;80(1):64-5) (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3727000), but that was
it. There is an article in Emergency Medical News (Vol. XXXIII, No. 7, July
2011, pg. 26-27 by Leon Gussow of a reported poisoning incident (reported by
Fernandez-Ortega, et al., in this same publication, 2010, 39(5):612) caused
by the ingestion of a Charonia sauliae. The patient and uneaten portions of
the C. sauliae tested positive for tetrodotoxin (TTX), the first such
incidence in the Mediterranean (Malaga, Spain). Mollusk-related poisonings
we are more familiar with are the PSP (paralytic shellfish poisoning) cases
caused by saxitoxin in filter-feeding bivalves , especially during a
so-called "red tide." In any case, TTX or tetrodotoxin is usually
associated with puffer fish (the popular fugu in Japan). It is also the
toxin found with Australia's blue-ring octopus. There are a couple of
strange aspects here. First, C. sauliae is commonly sold in Mediterranean
fish markets. This would lead one to believe that TTX is not commonly found
in this species - or folks would have been dropping dead all over the place
in southern Europe (heat from cooking does not break down TTX).
Similarly, you would think that commonly found and easily accessible
sand-dwelling olives would have been harvested for food from prehistoric
times and their toxicity well-known. I would guess that in both cases, the
TTX came from a food source the mollusk ate (like the PSP from the red-tide
dinoflagellates filtered out and eaten by bivalves). So we may have a case
of "Molluscan Roulette." Sometimes (I would guess the vast majority of the
times) these animals are added to the dinner-pot, there is no problem, but
occasionally, depending upon what you are eating ate in return, it might
drop you in your tracks. Neat huh?
Opposing viewpoints or comments from someone who might actually know
something about this are more than welcome.
Tom Eichhorst in New Mexico, USA
--------------------------------------------------
From: "Avril Bourquin" <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, February 13, 2012 11:48 AM
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: [CONCH-L] lettered olive
> I've had a request as to the edibility of the lettered olive or any other
> olives. Can someone help me out please?
>
> Avril Bourquin
>
> Avril Bourquin
> PO Box 366
> Invermere, BC
> Canada, V0A 1K0
>
>
> Phone/Fax: (250) 342-7224
> Email: [log in to unmask]
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> Man and Mollusc
> Man and Mollusc Directories
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