Cammilleri et al. 2025 — Toxic metals in marine collagen supplements

Summary

This is a primary occurrence survey of toxic metals in marine collagen supplements, a fish-derived supplement product within the HMTc scope. The authors measured arsenic, lead, cadmium, and mercury by ICP-MS in 120 samples spanning 65 brands of fish-origin collagen sold on Italian e-commerce and retail channels. The load-bearing finding is that arsenic is the dominant contaminant: total arsenic was the most abundant element measured, with a mean of 0.59 ± 0.28 mg/kg and a maximum of 1.11 mg/kg in a Pangasius-derived marine collagen. Lead was lower and consistent (0.13 ± 0.02 mg/kg), cadmium was near-ubiquitous but at very low levels (detected in 98% of samples, maximum 0.0018 mg/kg), and mercury was detectable in only 12% of samples. The authors note significant variability across brands. For the Index this establishes arsenic as the priority analyte for marine collagen supplements, with the fish/marine origin being the plausible route for the arsenic burden, consistent with arsenic accumulation in marine matrices generally.

Key numbers

ICP-MS, total metals, expressed as mg/kg of supplement. Arsenic is total As; the authors reference the EFSA inorganic-As assessment for the risk step but report total As as the measured quantity.

• Arsenic dominates the toxic-metal profile; the 1.11 mg/kg maximum occurred in a Pangasius (catfish) marine collagen.
• Cadmium is detected in nearly all samples but at negligible concentrations (max 0.0018 mg/kg).
• Mercury is largely absent (detectable in 12% of samples only).
• Significant between-brand variability was reported.

Methods (brief)

UltraWAVE microwave digestion followed by ICP-MS (Agilent 7700x) for As, Pb, Cd, Hg. 120 samples from 65 fish-origin collagen brands sold in Italy (2022). Method validated (acceptance 90–110%, recovery 96–105%). Total metals; no inorganic-As speciation performed (iAs referenced only for the risk comparison).

Implications

• Establishes arsenic as the priority toxic metal for marine collagen supplements within supplements-protein-collagen-powders, complementing the protein-powder cadmium signal from bandara2020-protein-powder-heavy-metals — collagen powders track arsenic, protein/whey powders track cadmium.
• The marine/fish origin links the arsenic burden to seafood-derived raw material, relevant to any supply-chain screening for collagen sourcing.
• Contributes arsenic occurrence (with a 1.11 mg/kg high value) and low-level lead, cadmium, mercury context for fish-collagen supplements.

Wiki pages this source may touch

• supplements-protein-collagen-powders — arsenic-led toxic-metal profile for marine collagen.
• arsenic — dominant contaminant; fish/marine-origin route; 1.11 mg/kg maximum.
• lead, cadmium, mercury — low-level occurrence in collagen supplements.

Verification notes

• Concentrations from the abstract and Table 3 (toxic metal concentrations, mg/kg). The paper reports per-brand data using anonymized brand numbers (e.g. “brand 2”); per the Part 12 firewall, only the category-level distribution (means, maxima, detection frequencies) is reproduced here, not the per-brand breakdown.
• Arsenic is reported as total As by ICP-MS; the inorganic-As fraction is not measured (EFSA iAs reference values are cited only for the risk discussion).
• Exact per-brand sample allocation (65 brands → 120 samples) is summarized; the brand-level table is not reproduced.

Page history

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