Concentrations and Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Tissues of Walleye Pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus) Captured from the Northeastern Coast of Korea

Abstract

Concentrations of the heavy metals arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), and zine (Zn) were measured in muscle, liver, and gonads of walleye pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus) caught in waters off the northeastern coast of Korea. Zn concentration was the highest in the three tissues, and all heavy metals, except Hg, were selectively accumulated in liver relative to muscle and gonads. The metal concentrations in muscle and gonads, except Cd and Zn in some gonad samples, were below the national and international regulatory limits set by various countries and by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The estimated daily intakes of heavy metals were in the range of 0.003 to 1.341% of the provisional maximum tolerable daily intakes, and the hazard quotients of the heavy metals were less than 1.0. Our results suggest that the intake of heavy metals by the consumption of G. chalcogrammus does not have significant adverse effects on health. HIGHLIGHTS

Heavy Metals in Unprocessed or Minimally Processed Foods Consumed by Humans Worldwide: A Scoping Review

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“…It is the second most commonly consumed fish in Korea, and is used worldwide in foods, such as surimi and roe (Anvari et al, 2018). Walleye pollock dominated the seafood market until the 1990s, but in the 2000s its market collapsed because of overfishing and the rise in sea-surface temperatures, which affected the cod ecosystem (Hwang et al, 2019;Kangsu et al, 2020). A decline in production led to fake labeling of other fish as walleye pollock.…”