Essential and Toxic Elements in Seafood Available in Poland from Different Geographical Regions

Abstract

The concentrations of 15 elements (Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn, Co, Ni, Cr, Se, Cd, Pb, Hg, Ca, Na, K, and Mg) were determined in the edible parts of shellfish on sale in the local market in Gdańsk. The samples consisted of three groups--crustaceans, molluscs, and surimi--that are processed to different degrees. For the purposes of this analysis, they were dried, homogenized, and digested in an automatic microwave system. The samples were analyzed quantitatively for Cu, Zn, Fe, Mn, Co, Ni, Cr, Mg, Na, K, and Ca (F-AAS), Cd and Pb (GF-AAS), Se (HG-AAS), and Hg (CV-AAS). The elemental levels detected in shellfish were compared to those in cod, herring, pork, beef, chicken, and eggs. The recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of essential elements and the provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI) of toxic elements were estimated. With factor analysis of the data, taxonomically different groups of raw and processed shellfish could be distinguished.

Tissue Distribution and Correlation Profiles of Heavy-Metal Accumulation in the Freshwater Crayfish Astacus leptodactylus

“…Co is an essential heavy metal for many organisms (Kwoczek et al 2006). Despite the necessity of this element in tissues, its concentrations were lower than detection limits in gill and abdominal muscle samples and therefore were not considered for correlation analysis.…”

“…Cr exists in valence states ranging from -2 to ?6, with some oxidation states being essential (e.g., ?3) and others toxic (e.g., ?6) (Kwoczek et al 2006;Bankar et al 2009). 52 Cr and 53 Cr, the two isotopes of Cr inspected in this study, both display a moderately negative correlation with growth parameters in all tested tissue types in male specimens, whereas only a slight negative correlation in the exoskeleton samples was observed in female specimens for the same variables.…”

Safety assessment of seafood with respect to chemical pollutants in European Seas

“…Falling catches of these edible resources in the Baltic Sea as well as changes in people's nutritional habits have resulted in a demand for new marine sources of nutrition, e.g. mussels, shrimps, crabs, octopuses, lobsters, and squid widely consumed in Asia and elsewhere in Europe (Kwoczek et al 2006). They are a rich source of different nutritional components, e.g.…”

“…According to Kwoczek et al (2006), no hazard is posed by exposure to mercury through consumption of shellfish (edible parts of shrimps, surimi products, octopus, boiled mussels, oysters, squids, crabs, lobster) available on sale in the local market in Gdansk. The products were imported from all over the world, i.e.…”

“…The products were imported from all over the world, i.e. Norway, Great Britain, Spain, India, Thailand, the Philippines, Canada, and New Zealand (Kwoczek et al 2006). …”