Red tide is upon us, and the government is taking steps to ensure our food remains safe. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health is beginning to test some shellfish that may have been affected by red tide. The testing will start with surf clams and ocean quahog gathered from federal waters, which are not usually tested (shellfish from state waters are).

Most algae are harmless, but some of the phytoplankton that make up algae contain toxins hazardous to both humans and animals. "Red tide" is the term most often used for this harmful algae, which notorious for depleting wildlife in affected areas and can also have a negative impact on humans. Scientists expect an abundance of toxic plankton (flippant side note: Toxic Plankton = great band name) this year, which means we all have to be more careful about what we eat--and where we swim.

Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (also a great band name), or PSP, is what happens when you eat shellfish harvested from red tide waters, and it ain't pretty. The DPH stresses that no cases of PSP have been recorded in Massachusetts since the early '90s, and that you can't get PSP from "Fish, scallops adductor muscles without the roe, crab, shrimp and lobster meat."

Testing federal waters is an additional precaution that the DPH (which closely monitors state waters) is taking due to the expectation of high toxic plankton levels this year. You can check shellfish closings at the Department of Marine Fisheries, and get more information about red tide from the DPH. Restaurants are required to identify the origins of their shellfish, so don't hesitate to ask if you're skeptical.

Clam image from Flickr user ayustety