Taylor et al. 2025 — Seafood benefits and contaminants: comprehensive review
This broad review from Delaware State University surveys the nutritional benefits and contaminant risks associated with seafood consumption, covering heavy metals (mercury, lead, cadmium, arsenic), microplastics, PFAS, pathogens, and biogenic amines. The heavy metals section synthesizes published literature on Hg, Pb, and Cd concentrations in commercial seafood species, FDA and EPA advisory frameworks, vulnerable populations (pregnant women, infants, young children), and risk mitigation strategies including species selection and consumption frequency guidance. The review is B-tier because it synthesizes secondary literature rather than reporting new primary measurements. It is most useful as a roadmap to primary literature and for its treatment of US regulatory context.
Key numbers
The review does not report new primary concentration data. Key regulatory thresholds and literature ranges synthesized:
- Hg (methylmercury): FDA action level 1.0 mg/kg for most fish; FDA/EPA guidance for pregnant women and children recommends avoiding high-Hg species (shark, swordfish, king mackerel, tilefish from Gulf of Mexico, orange roughy, bigeye tuna, marlin)
- Pb: FDA action level 1.3 mg/kg (seafood); EU limit 0.300 mg/kg for fish muscle
- Cd: EU limit 0.050 mg/kg for fish muscle (lower for some species)
- tAs: Not subject to a specific seafood action level in the US; FDA monitors but has not set a formal action level
Literature ranges synthesized from cited primary studies:
- MeHg in predatory fish: commonly 0.1–1.0 mg/kg; large predatory species (swordfish, shark) can exceed 1.0 mg/kg
- Cd in shellfish (oysters, clams): up to 1.0–2.0 mg/kg in some high-accumulating bivalves
- Pb in fish muscle: generally below 0.1 mg/kg in most commercial species
Risk mitigation strategies discussed: species diversification, consumption frequency limits, sourcing from low-contamination fisheries, processing effects on metal concentrations.
Methods (brief)
Narrative review; no systematic review methodology stated. Literature sourced from PubMed, Web of Science, and FDA/EPA databases. Published from Delaware State University (Delaware, USA); primary US regulatory framework perspective with some international coverage. Evidence tier B because this is a broad secondary review synthesizing existing literature without new data or systematic pooling analysis. The metals section is one of several contaminant categories covered; depth of metals analysis is moderate rather than specialist.
Implications
Certification: Provides useful regulatory context summary (FDA action levels, EPA advisories) but adds no new primary concentration data. For certification threshold work, primary studies should be consulted rather than this review.
Courses: Well-suited as a course reading for introducing the seafood contaminant landscape to general audiences: covers the range of contaminant classes, explains US regulatory framework, and addresses the risk-benefit trade-off of seafood consumption for vulnerable populations.
App: No new contamination_profile values derivable from this review. Useful for confirming species-level risk tier assignments that are already established in the primary literature.
Microbiome: Not applicable.