Listen up oyster lovers.
Scientists have developed a new frontline in shellfish biosecurity which removes some risk when downing the popular seafood delicacy.
A quick new test which works similar to a home pregnancy kit can identify potentially deadly toxins that can be found in shellfish as a result of natural algal blooms in harvesting regions.
The toxins are very poisonous, researcher Katrina Campbell told reporters at a Hobart laboratory on Friday.
"They start with symptoms like tingling of the lips, and move to paralysis and soon could send the body into shutdown in terms of movement and they could cause death at certain high levels."
In 2012 a batch of mussels farmed on Tasmania's east coast was shipped to Japan where authorities found they contained dangerously high levels of toxin.
University of Tasmania professor Gustaaf Hallegraeff said the detection sparked an embarrassing recall of the state's shellfish exports and subsequent industry shutdown which cost the sector some $23 million.
The new technology - developed thanks to a fisheries grant - could prevent a recurrence, he said.
In a project led by Prof Hallegraeff, the test kits are ready to be rolled out to farmers.
"Take the juice from inside the shellfish and run that across the test the same way you would run urine across a pregnancy test," Prof Campbell said.
"The presence or absence of a line tells you whether it's toxic."
Shellfish samples are currently sent to Sydney for testing in a process that can take up to 10 days to return a result and cost more than $800 per screen.
The new test procedure costs about $35 per sample.
The technology can already be used on oysters and mussels and the team hopes to soon be able to add scallops and lobsters to the list.
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