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The aim of the present study is to obtain information about the levels of monomethylarsonic acid (MMA) and dimethylarsinic acid (DMA) in popular seafood products and to study the possible effect of the manufacturing process on the levels of arsenical species. The methodology employed couples high-performance liquid chromatography with hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometric detection. Among all of the samples analyzed (n = 29), only 3 mollusks presented MMA levels above the limit of detection for the method, 0.6−3.7 ng g-1, fresh mass (fm), expressed as arsenic compound, and according to the dilution employed. The DMA levels ranged between <2 and 475 ng g-1 (fm), with the highest values occurring in the fish group. In 10 of the samples analyzed the total arsenic (fm) represented by unknown species [other than arsenobetaine (AB), MMA, and DMA] was around 1 μg g-1 or considerably higher (1.7−4.8 μg g-1) mostly in frozen and preserved fish. In the fish group the highest level of DMA expressed as a percentage of total arsenic was found in the preserved fish. More research is needed to identify all arsenic compounds in seafood and to confirm whether AB is degraded during the manufacturing processes, producing DMA and other arsenical compounds. Keywords: Monomethylarsonic and dimethylarsinic acid levels; arsenic levels; high-performance liquid chromatography−hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry; manufactured seafood

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