Levels of toxic metals in canned seafood
2004
Lourenco, H.M. | Afonso, C. | Martins, M.F. | Lino, A.R. | Nunes, M.L.
The production of canned fish has decreased in recent years; however, several European countries still consume large amounts of these products. It is well known that such products may contain some toxic metals such as mercury, cadmium and lead. In order to determine the level of these three elements in canned seafood, several products were analyzed (more than 1800 samples). The mean total mercury level was 0.12 +/- 0.14 mg/kg wet weight, with the highest content found in canned tuna. However, such values did not exceed the proposed limit for tuna by EU (1.0 mg/kg). All analyzed samples showed lead levels lower than the indicated limits. On the other hand, a few samples (less than 2%) of canned tuna and squid exceeded the limit values proposed for cadmium, 0.1 and 1.0 mg/kg, respectively. Taking into account the way in which these products are consumed, it can be concluded that canned seafood products do not represent a risk in terms of human diet.
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