Trace Elements and Toxic Heavy Metals Pollution in Retail Seafood Products in Shaoxing in 2015

Objective To understand the contamination level of common essential trace elements and toxic heavy metals in retail seafood products in Shaoxing.

Methods A total of 70 seafood samples covering fish, shellfish, and mollusk were collected from markets, and the levels of lead(Pb), cadmium(Cd), mercury(Hg), arsenic(As), copper(Cu), zinc(Zn), nickel(Ni), chromium(Cr), aluminum(Al), stannum(Sn), stibium(Sb), and 16 rare earth elements were analyzed using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry combined with microwave digest according to relevant national standards.

Results The highest levels for fish and shellfish were Zn with medians of 4.84 and 19.3 mg/kg respectively, the highest level for mollusc was Al with a median of 21.0 mg/kg; the lowest levels for shellfish and mollusk were Sn with a same median of 0.001 5 mg/kg, and the lowest level for fish was Sb with a median of 0.001 5 mg/kg. The levels of the other 9 kinds of non-rare earth elements except for Sn and Pb in fish were significantly lower than those in shellfish and mollusk. The exceeding rates of Cd in shellfish and mollusk were 40.0% and 5.0% respectively. The highest levels of rare earth elements for shellfish and mollusk were cerium(Ce) with medians of 15.8 and 115.7μg/kg respectively, and the highest level for fish was lanthanum(La) with a median of 1.15 μg/kg.

Conclusion The overall pollution level of hazardous elements in retail seafood products is low in Shaoxing in 2015; however, severe cadmium pollution in mollusk requires continuous strengthened surveillance and appropriate control measures.