Heavy Metals Contamination of Canned Fish and Related Health Implications in Iran

Özet

Samples of some popular brands of canned Thunnus albacares; Clupeonella cultriventris caspia; Euthynnus affinis; andThunnus tonggol in the Iranian market were analyzed for determination of Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn and Ni after digestion with 10 ml of1 N nitric acid by inductively coupled plasma–optical emission spectrometer. The results showed that the concentrations ofmetals (µg/g wet weight) with an average of 2.66 for Cr, 0.92 for Cu, 54.68 for Fe, 0.33 for Mn and 0.22 for Ni were lowerthan the Maximum Permissible Limits (MPL) established by WHO. Also, The Health Risk Index (HRI) values were withinthe safe limits (<1), and there is no potential health risk for adults and children via consumption of canned fish. Despite thefact that our canned fish samples does not significantly contribute to total body burden of analyzed metals, But due to theincreased discharge of pollutants into the environment, especially the marine ecosystem, and consider that various species offish retain substantial amounts of heavy metals during their lifespan, the monitoring of heavy metals concentrations in food isimportant. Therefore, the study of heavy metal distribution on a temporal basis is recommended.