Topic outline

  • Ciguatera poisoning is one of the most common foodborne illnesses related to consumption of fishery products, caused by ingesting seafood that have been contaminated by ciguatoxins (CTXs). This course is designed to help learners understand the ecology of the causative organisms, as well as the potential hazard of fish contamination and consequent illnesses. The course proposes tools, approaches and strategies for the design and implementation of environmental, food safety and epidemiological monitoring, with a view to developing a well-informed ciguatera risk management plan.

    • System Requirements

      The online version of this course runs on the latest versions of Chrome and Safari. In order to access this course on Internet Explorer or Firefox, you must install and enable Adobe Flash player.

      The downloadable version only runs on Windows PC’s and no additional software is needed.

      • Audience

        This e-learning course targets food safety and fishery authorities, policy-makers, doctors and health managers. The course is also meant for trainers and students interested in ciguatera poisoning, and for fishing and fish processing workers, who can help to identify hazards associated with fish products, in order to smooth the formulation of control strategies

        • You will learn about

          • recognize the organisms responsible for ciguatera and to monitor their occurrence in coastal environments;  
          • understand the risk of seafood contamination with toxins responsible for ciguatera and the options available for food safety management; 
          • classify the symptoms of the food-borne illness ciguatera and options for implementation of a surveillance programme; and 
          • assess the risk of ciguatera and develop management options to protect human health and seafood safety.

          • Course structure

            The course consists of 4 lessons, ranging from approximately 30 to 45 minutes duration each: 

            • Lesson 1 - The causative organisms of ciguatera 
            • Lesson 2 - Food safety: Ciguatoxin monitoring in fishery resources)  
            • Lesson 3 - Public Health: Ciguatera illness monitoring and reporting 
            • Lesson 4 - Risk management

            • Partners

              • Digital Badge Certification

                To be granted a digital certification from the FAO e-learning Centre, you will have to take the final evaluation exam after you’ve finished a course.

                Our digital badge certifications verify that you have achieved the learning outcomes and competencies outlined in FAO e-learning courses.

                What is a digital badge?
                Digital badges are online visual representations of learned skills and achievements earned in learning environments. They have already been adopted widely across a range of sectors and are being used to recognize both accredited and non-accredited learning in formal, informal and non-formal settings.
                Badges can be displayed wherever earners want them on the web, and share them for employment, education or lifelong learning.


                Please click the link below to start the test: