Food safety aspects of possible chemical contamination in fish

Abstract

The aim of this study was to reevaluate the possible contaminants of fish for human consumption and analyze the measured concentrations of mercury, cadmium, lead, and arsenic which can cause toxic effects on human body, from European Seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) that are sold in a local market in Hungary. The investigated 40 samples of the European Seabass were originated from Adriatic Sea, Croatia (FAO Fishing area 37.2.1). The samples were investigated with Perkin Elmer Optima 8300 DV (Perkin Elmer, Shelton, USA) Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometer (ICP-OES) instrument to investigate the concentration of the elements that are mentioned above. According to the result of the investigation and the discussion, the detected concentrations of arsenic (1.44±0.90 mg/kg w.w.), cadmium (0.06±0.02 mg/kg w.w.), mercury (<0.50 mg/kg w.w.), and lead (0.25±0.14 mg/kg w.w.) in the fish meat and the calculated values such as EDI, EWI, and HQ were not considered dangerous for regular consumption of the fish though the lead level seemed a little high compared to the official maximum limit and reference values.