Overview
Leite and colleagues analyzed 120 cans of sardines in oil and in tomato sauce from five Brazilian brands by ICP-OES for twelve elements and calculated hazard quotients and cancer risk. Results are printed per 84 g tin. Arsenic was the element present at the highest toxic-element level and drove the hazard estimates; cadmium, lead and chromium were low, and cobalt was below detection in every sample. Mercury was not measured.
Key numbers
- Arsenic (total): 0.256 to 0.377 mg per 84 g tin in oil and 0.207 to 0.323 mg per 84 g tin in tomato sauce (Table 4, p. 6).
- Lead: 0.00007 ± 0.00001 to 0.0009 ± 0.0012 mg per 84 g tin (Table 4, p. 6).
- Cadmium: below detection in three brand-type groups, 0.00002 to 0.002 mg per 84 g tin elsewhere (Table 4, p. 6).
Methods (brief)
About 400 mg of drained, blended sardine meat was microwave-digested in nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide and analyzed by axial ICP-OES. Detection limits are given per element in mg/kg (lead 0.0051, cadmium 0.00063, arsenic 0.0037). Spike recoveries were 95 to 117%; no certified reference material was used.
Evidence Fitness
A reasonable market sample of two common tinned-fish styles, direct evidence for tinned-fish. Values are per tin, not per kilogram, and were not converted. Lead and cadmium means at this scale fall close to or below the stated detection limits, so those numbers are uncertain. Arsenic is total arsenic, but the risk estimates treat it as inorganic.