[Arsenic contamination in imported sea fish and fish products made from them]

Abstract

The rate of arsenic contamination in sea-fish is, in comparison with freshwater fish, relatively high. An investigation of five kinds of sea-fishes--of mackerel, herring, cod, tunny, and plaice--that are most frequently put on the market showed that a permitted value up to 1 mg As per 1 kg of fish meat was found only in 24.0% of mackerel, 9.5% of herring, 33.4% of cod, 57.0% of plaice and 0.0% of tunny. Further investigation of dressed fish--of fillets--revealed that 15.8% of herring fillets and 0.0% of cod fillets met the permitted value. The values of a majority of studied sea-fish samples ranged from 1 to 2 mg As per 1 kg: 52% of mackerel, 63.5% of herring, 66.6% of cod, 43% of tunny, 28% of plaice. It is necessary to revalue the permitted values of arsenic content in sea-fish and in products made from their meat and to defend the upper limits of the permitted arsenic value, which will require the purposeful organization of effective laboratory tests the results of which will directly influence an estimation of fish raw material and will provide the corresponding hygienic quality of fish and fish products.