HEALTH RISK ASSESSMENT OF HEAVY METALS IN SEABREAM (Sparus aurata) SAMPLED FROM A PUBLIC MARKET IN TÜRKİYE

Abstract

There is a dearth of data about public health in the regular evaluation of heavy metal levels in seafood obtained from public market. This study aimed to examine the levels of essential (copper, zinc) and nonessential metals (cadmium, lead) in the tissues of cultured seabream (Sparus aurata), which was in public market. For this purpose, seabream samples were collected from the public market. And then, copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), and lead (Pb) metal accumulation levels in tissues of the dissected gill, liver, kidney, and muscle were obtained by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). In order to understand whether the fish posed a risk to public health, risk evaluation formulations (estimated daily intake: EDI, hazard coefficients: HQ, hazard index: HI) were calculated for the muscle tissue. The data showed that Zn, Cd and Pb concentrations were maximal in the kidney tissue of S. aurata and Cu concentration were in the liver tissue, while the minimum heavy metal levels were in the muscle tissue. As a result, the maximum levels of heavy metals in the edible tissue of seabream were found as 0.11 mg Cu/kg wet weight, 0.72 mg Zn/kg wet weight, 0.12 mg Cd/kg wet weight, and 0.34 mg Pb/kg wet weight. Maximum values of them do not indicate any health risks as they are lower than the allowable tolerable levels specified by the international EDI estimation committees. The examined HQ and HI indicators were observed below 1 in all seasons. However, it is always possible for heavy metal intake to pose potential risks. For this reason, it is essential that the results of the study be interpreted from different perspectives and taken into consideration by other scientists.