Toxic elements in Sardina pilchardus and food toxicological significance

ABSTRACT

Cd, Hg, and Pb concentrations were investigated in Sardina pilchardus fish. Samples originated from the Atlantic Northeast fishing area 27 and were analysed by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy. The aim of the study was to estimate the health impact of consumption, based on the concentrations and calculated exposure for each element. Based on the average total arsenic concentration of 3.26 ± 0.39 mg/kg in the samples, the estimated inorganic arsenic content and calculated PTWI suggested that the samples do not pose a health risk for consumers. Cadmium content of the samples was also not considered hazardous, as both the measured concentrations and PTMI values were below the specified limits. Lead concentration exceeded the maximum limit in 73% of the samples, while calculated average weekly intake was below the recommended level. The measured mercury concentrations exceeded the maximum limit in only 5% of the samples.

KEYWORDS:

• Marine fish
• potentially toxic elements
• heavy metals
• food toxicological risk

Acknowledgement

The authors thank Mikolt Bakony for her advice on different statistical approaches, describing advantages and disadvantages of the possible methods.

Ethical approval

This article does not contain any study involving human participants or live animals.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data generated during this study are available from the corresponding authors on request.

Additional information

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.