Exposure to Toxic Metals and Health Risk Assessment through Ingestion of Canned Sardines Sold in Brazil

Luana Carolina Santos Leite, Nayara Vieira de Lima, Elaine Silva de Pádua Melo, Carla Maiara Lopes Cardozo and Valter Aragão do Nascimento
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Luana Carolina Santos Leite: Group of Spectroscopy and Bioinformatics Applied to Biodiversity and Health (GEBABS), Graduate Program in Health and Development in the Central-West Region of Brazil, School of Medicine, Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul, Campo Grande 79079-900, Brazil
Nayara Vieira de Lima: Group of Spectroscopy and Bioinformatics Applied to Biodiversity and Health (GEBABS), Graduate Program in Health and Development in the Central-West Region of Brazil, School of Medicine, Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul, Campo Grande 79079-900, Brazil
Elaine Silva de Pádua Melo: Group of Spectroscopy and Bioinformatics Applied to Biodiversity and Health (GEBABS), Graduate Program in Health and Development in the Central-West Region of Brazil, School of Medicine, Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul, Campo Grande 79079-900, Brazil
Carla Maiara Lopes Cardozo: Group of Spectroscopy and Bioinformatics Applied to Biodiversity and Health (GEBABS), Graduate Program in Health and Development in the Central-West Region of Brazil, School of Medicine, Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul, Campo Grande 79079-900, Brazil
Valter Aragão do Nascimento: Group of Spectroscopy and Bioinformatics Applied to Biodiversity and Health (GEBABS), Graduate Program in Health and Development in the Central-West Region of Brazil, School of Medicine, Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul, Campo Grande 79079-900, Brazil

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 13, 1-17

Abstract: The presence of heavy metals in the environment is increasing, which can be a danger to public health. Fish exposed to contaminated environments tend to have higher concentrations of some metals in their tissues. Monitoring these elements remains urgent as it is a matter of global concern. Canned sardines from the Brazilian market were analyzed for elements (Al, As, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb, Se, and Zn) of metals and metalloids, including some toxic, using inductively coupled plasma optical spectrometry (ICP OES) in two types of sardines (preserved in oil and tomato sauce) from five different brands. The results were compared to limit levels for consumption set by FAO/WHO. Moreover, we assessed the associated risk regarding the elemental intake of these elements through the samples, using the hazard quotient ( HQ ), hazard index ( HI ), and carcinogenic risk ( CR ). All samples had unfavorable HQ and HI , primarily due to arsenic content. In the same manner, CR for arsenic was above the proposed limit of 10 −4 , and cadmium and chromium, which were within the acceptable limit (10 −6 to 10 −4 ), require attention. These results show that chronic consumption of canned sardines sold in Brazil is unsafe, and quality surveillance is needed to ensure there is no risk to the population that ingests these products.

Keywords: heavy metals; metalloids; pollutant; processed fish (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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