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Consumer Risk Characterisation of Potentially Toxic Elements in European Seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) Marketed in Hungary

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Summary

This 2026 occurrence and risk characterisation study measured total arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury in European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) muscle tissue from 40 fish purchased from Hungarian retail markets. All fish originated from the Adriatic Sea (Croatia). Total arsenic, cadmium, and lead concentrations were quantified by ICP-OES after microwave acid digestion; all mercury results fell below the LOD (0.50 mg/kg). Inorganic arsenic was not measured directly; the authors applied a conservative 5% inorganic arsenic (iAs) fraction of total arsenic to estimate exposure for risk calculation, reflecting the documented dominance of organic arsenic species (primarily arsenobetaine) in marine fish muscle.

Key numbers

  • Mean total arsenic 1.44 +/- 0.90 mg/kg ww (range not tabulated; calculated from mean and SD)
  • Mean cadmium 0.06 +/- 0.02 mg/kg ww
  • Mean lead 0.25 +/- 0.14 mg/kg ww
  • Mercury: all 40 samples below LOD of 0.50 mg/kg ww
  • Estimated iAs (at 5% of tAs): mean 0.07 +/- 0.05 mg/kg ww
  • 15% of samples (n=6) exceeded EU ML for lead (0.30 mg/kg ww in fish muscle)
  • 32.5% of samples (n=13) exceeded EU ML for cadmium (0.05 mg/kg ww in fish muscle)
  • Under the conservative 5% iAs assumption, 20% of samples potentially exceeded the EU indicative level for iAs in fish (0.10 mg/kg ww per Commission Regulation 2025/1891)
  • Non-carcinogenic hazard index (HI) from combined As+Cd+Pb exceeded 1 under mean adult consumption and all high-consumer scenarios; children showed HI up to 2.36

Methods

ICP-OES (Perkin Elmer Optima 8300 DV) after microwave acid digestion (CEM MARS6; HNO3/H2O2; 200 degrees C, 50 min). LODs: arsenic (As) 0.50, cadmium (Cd) 0.05, mercury (Hg) 0.50, lead (Pb) 0.20 mg/kg ww. No arsenic speciation performed; iAs assumed as 5% of total arsenic for risk estimation. CRM used for QC (not specified in available pages). Hazard quotients and hazard index calculated using EFSA food intake data.

Implications

The 5% iAs assumption is conservative in that it may overestimate iAs for marine fish (where AsB typically dominates), but the absence of speciation data means this cannot be confirmed. Direct speciation would be required for regulatory compliance assessment against EU 2025/1891 iAs MLs for fish and seafood. The combined lead and cadmium exceedance rates are notable: 15% and 32.5% respectively exceed current EU MLs. Lead is the dominant non-cancer risk driver in this dataset.

Update history

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