Human health risk assessment of heavy metals via dietary intake of Rainbow trout from Samsun fish markets

Abstract

Fish are an important part of the diet of the local people in the coasts of the Black Sea. The concentrations of three essential (Fe, Zn, Cu) and three non-essential (Pb, Hg, Cd) heavy metals were determined in Rainbow trout from Samsun fish market. In the present study, the maximum amounts of the toxic metals were 0.014 mg Pb kg-1 wet wt., 0.024 mg Hg kg-1 wet wt. and 0.018 mg Cd kg-1 wet wt. in the edible tissues of Rainbow trout. Maximum toxic heavy metal values are quite below the permitted values set by the Turkish Food Codex (TFC) and European Union legislation. Hazardous quotient (HQ) values showed that there was no apparent risk when each metal was analysed individually. Moreover, hazard index (HI) was also found to be less than 1. From the results the HQ of the heavy metals indicated that all Rainbow trout individuals were safe with no risk to consumers.