Toxic Metals (Al, cadmium (Cd), Pb) and Trace Element (B, Ba, Co, Cu, chromium (Cr), Fe, Li, Mn, Mo, nickel (Ni), Sr, V, Zn) Levels in Sarpa Salpa from the North-Eastern Atlantic Ocean Region

Overview

Gutierrez-Ravelo and colleagues measured toxic metals and trace elements in muscle and liver tissue of Sarpa salpa collected around Tenerife in the Canary Islands. The study reports fish-muscle occurrence values separately from fish-liver values, with liver showing higher cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), aluminum (Al), Cu, Fe, and Zn than muscle. It does not report mercury or arsenic.

Key numbers

Table 3 reports mean concentrations in mg/kg wet weight:

The paper reports these zone-level highlights from Table 4 and the discussion:

Table 6 estimates intake for 100 g/day consumption of Sarpa salpa tissue:

The source states that 100 g/day of muscle tissue did not pose a health risk under its exposure assumptions, while 100 g/day of liver tissue exceeded the cited guide values for Cd and Pb.

Methods (brief)

The authors collected ten Sarpa salpa specimens from each of three Tenerife coastal zones. Muscle with skin from the mid-dorsal area and whole liver were analyzed separately. Samples were dried at 70 +/- 10 deg C for 24 h, digested with 65% nitric acid, ashed at 420 +/- 20 deg C for 24 h, reconstituted with nitric acid and Milli-Q water, and analyzed by ICP-OES. Quality control used NIST SRM 1548a typical diet, SRM 1515 apple leaves, and SRM 1567a wheat flour; reported recoveries were generally about 98%-103%.

Implications

This source contributes Tenerife/Canary Islands occurrence data for a marine non-predatory fish species, with a clear distinction between fish muscle and liver. For product routing, the muscle values are the best fit for fresh-fish occurrence. The liver values are important seafood organ-meat context but should not be silently substituted for ordinary fish-muscle concentrations.

Related evidence

• Organ Meats (Kidney and Liver)

Update history

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