Mercury and Selenium Content in Selected Seafood

✍ Scribed by Maria Plessi; Davide Bertelli; Agar Monzani

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 2001
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 183 KB
• Volume: 14
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0889-1575
• DOI: 10.1006/jfca.2001.1003

✦ Synopsis

The mercury and selenium contents of fresh seafood were determined, respectively, by means of cold vapor atomic absorption spectroscopy (CVAAS) and hydride-generation atomic absorption spectrometry (HGAAS). All the values obtained were lower than the European Union's legal limit of 0.5 mg/kg fresh food, rising to 1.0 mg/kg for the edible parts of some listed species; in "sh they vary between 0.057 mg/kg in sole and 0.579 mg/kg in sword"sh (included in the category of large "sh, for which the legal limit is 1 mg/kg). The levels of selenium vary between 0.073 mg/kg in perch and 0.743 mg/kg in tuna. In shell"sh the mercury content varies between 0.023 mg/kg in moscardino and 0.150 mg/kg in Mediterranean shrimp, while that of selenium varies between 0.067 mg/kg in spiny lobster and 0.605 mg/kg in mussels. A signi"cant di!erence was found between "sh and shell"sh for mercury, but not for selenium. A large excess of selenium in relation to mercury was observed (the mean molar ratio of Hg/Se is 0.23 for "sh and 0.09 for shell"sh), but no signi"cant correlation was found between the two elements.