Cadmium levels in food containing crab brown meat: A brief survey from UK retailers

The concentration and biomagnification of trace metals and metalloids across four trophic levels in a marine food web

“…Benthic invertebrates brown meat, extracted from European lobster (n = 1; made up of 9 individuals) and edible crab (n = 2) and muscle from the same species contributed to the benthic invertebrates muscle category. Brown meat is found in the shell cavity of the crab and is composed of the hepatopancreas which has long been reported to contain relatively high metal concentrations (particularly Cd and Pb), generally well above levels measured in the muscle from legs and claws (Davies et al, 1981;Barrento et al, 2009a;Barrento et al, 2009b;Noël et al, 2011;Bolam et al, 2016). Cd concentrations found in the meat of crustaceans represents a public health issue for many countries worldwide, and the assessment of the risks and benefits of the human consumption of brown meat remains challenging and controversial, where official legal limits of exposure are still lacking (Ervik et al, 2020).…”

Cadmium: A Focus on the Brown Crab (Cancer pagurus) Industry and Potential Human Health Risks

“…Some foods are more likely to contain cadmium than others. These foods include rice, potatoes, leafy greens such as spinach, and various seafoods such as crustaceans (e.g., lobster, prawns, and crab) [ 2 , 3 ]. Crab fishing is an important industry around the world, including in Ireland and Northern Europe, where the brown crab ( Cancer pagurus ) ( Figure 1 ) is the main species traded.…”