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ABSTRACT
Concentrations and profiles of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were determined in selected popular brands of canned fish (mackerel, sardine, and tuna) consumed in Nigeria with a view to providing information on the health risk associated with consumption of these products. The concentrations of PAHs were measured by gas chromatography equipped with flame ionization detection (GC-FID) after dichloromethane/hexane extraction and clean-up. The concentrations of Σ16 PAHs in these brands of canned fish varied from 174.6 to 350.8 μg/kg, 187.4 to 592.5 μg/kg, and 204 to 264.6 μg/kg for mackerel, sardine, and tuna, respectively. Benzo(a)pyrene was detected in 48% of the investigated brands at concentrations higher than the maximum tolerable limit of 5 μg/kg. The daily intake of PAHs from the consumption of any brand of these canned fish ranged from not detected (nd) to 54.3 ng BaP/kg bw/day, nd to 56.4 ng PAH2/kg bw/day, nd to 86.4 ng PAH4/kg bw/day, and nd to 153.7 ng PAH8/kg bw/day. The estimated margin of exposure (MOE) values (BaP-MOE, PAH2-MOE, PAH4-MOE, and PAH8-MOE) in a significant proportion of the brands was less than 10,000, which indicates a potential health risk for the consumers of these brands of canned fish.
