Nutrient and Chemical Contaminant Levels in Five Marine Fish Species from Angola—The EAF-Nansen Programme

Abstract

Fish is a rich source of several important nutrients and an important part of the otherwise plant-dominated diet present in Angola. However, fish may also be a source of contaminants. The aim of this study was to analyse the nutrient contents and the levels of chemical contaminants, including arsenic, cadmium, mercury, and lead, in five commonly consumed marine fish species sampled during a survey with the research vessel Dr. Fridtjof Nansen in Angola. The species’ contribution to recommended nutrient intakes (RNI) for women and children was assessed and compared to that of food products of terrestrial animal origin. All the sampled species are good sources of protein and micronutrients if included in the diet, and inter-species variation is evident. The species were identified to contribute 5–15% of the RNI for calcium, iron, iodine, and zinc and exceeded the contribution to protein and iron intakes of food products of terrestrial animal origin. Furthermore, the potential consumer exposure to chemical contaminants in the species was assessed. None of the species exceeded the maximum levels for cadmium, mercury, and lead, and the potential consumer exposure to cadmium and methylmercury was considered low. The data presented in this study represent an important contribution to African food composition tables.

Seasonal variation in mineral concentrations of four marine fish species retained by fishers in Vanga and Msambweni, Kenya

“…Among the sampled species, Potassium concentrations ranged between 242 and 410 mg/100 g. The results agree with findings by Nordhagen et al (2020) whose K concentration in fish ranged between 177 and 513 mg/100 g. Findings by Reksten et al (2020a) on Potassium content in fish were within the same range. K concentration in the four selected species was significantly higher in the SEM season compared to NEM season.…”

“…The lowest recorded mineral concentration in fish specimens in this study were I, Fe and Zn. Similar studies by Reksten et al (2020a) and Nordhagen et al (2020) also observed lower concentrations of these three minerals in fish muscles compared to Mg, K, Ca and Na concentrations. Zn concentration ranged between 0.5 and 6.13 mg/100 g which is similar to results reported by Nurnadia et al (2013) and Zaman et al, (2014).…”

Nutritional value of the marine fish in Bangladesh and their potential to address malnutrition: A review

“…Under the EAF-Nansen program, Reksten et al (2020) [ 75 ] analyzed five marine fish from Angola, including two species of sardine ( Sardinella aurita and Sardinella maderensis ). Comparing the nutritional quality of sardine ( S. fimbriata ) from Bangladesh with those from Angola, results showed they have equal amounts of protein but S. fimbriata was higher in calcium, zinc, iron, iodine, and selenium than both S. aurita and S. maderensis .…”

Composition of nutrients, heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and microbiological quality in processed small indigenous fish species from Ghana: Implications for food security

“…The significance of food and nutrition security (FNS) is anchored in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically SDG 2 "Zero Hunger" and SDG 3 "Good Health and Well-Being" [2]. Fish is a source of many essential nutrients [3][4][5][6][7], and can substantially improve FNS especially in a diet that largely consists of starchy staple foods such as cassava, yam, rice, maize and millet, which is the case in Ghana [8][9][10][11]. Compared with animal source foods, starchy foods contain low amounts of micronutrients, have poorer protein quality and may be a source of phytate which further aggravates the severity of undernutrition by inhibiting the absorption of essential minerals and limiting protein and lipid utilization [12,13].…”