Health risk/benefit information for consumers of fish and shellfish: FishChoice, a new online tool.
It is well known that due to the content in omega-3 fatty acids, consumption of fish and shellfish is beneficial for human cardiovascular health. However, a number of recent studies have shown that fish consumption may be also a potential dietary source of exposure to various environmental pollutants with well-known potential adverse effects on human health. Moreover, there is still a lack of information regarding levels of emerging contaminants in fish and shellfish, in particular among consumers and stakeholders. Within the ECsafeSEAFOOD FP7 project, a wide variety of emerging contaminants including brominated flame retardants, pharmaceuticals, perfluoroalkyl substances, musk fragrances, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, UV-filters and endocrine disruptors, as well as inorganic arsenic and methylmercury, were analyzed in fish and shellfish samples collected all over the European Union. These data, together with those regarding nutrient concentrations from different European food composition databases, were integrated into a new online tool, called FishChoice. In this paper, we report how FishChoice was designed and present its main improvements compared to previous tools or software programs, in terms of selected pollutants, number of species, and specific recommendations for an optimal consumption of fish and shellfish.
Laboratory of Toxicology and Environmental Health, School of Medicine, IISPV, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Sant Llorenç 21, 43201 Reus, Catalonia, Spain.
Lolita
L
Vilavert
Department of Computer Engineering and Mathematics, Av. Països Catalans 26, Campus Sescelades, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, 43007 Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain.
Ferran
F
Borrell
Laboratory of Toxicology and Environmental Health, School of Medicine, IISPV, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Sant Llorenç 21, 43201 Reus, Catalonia, Spain. Electronic address: marti.nadal@urv.cat.
Martí
M
Nadal
Department of Public Health, Ghent University, UZ 4K3, De Pintelaan 185, 9000 Ghent, Belgium; Department of Agricultural Economics, Ghent University, Block A, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Gent, Belgium.
Silke
S
Jacobs
Department of Agricultural Economics, Ghent University, Block A, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Gent, Belgium.
Fien
F
Minnens
Department of Agricultural Economics, Ghent University, Block A, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Gent, Belgium.
Wim
W
Verbeke
Division of Aquaculture and Upgrading (DivAV), Portuguese Institute for the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA), Avenida de Brasilia, 1449-006 Lisboa, Portugal.
António
A
Marques
Laboratory of Toxicology and Environmental Health, School of Medicine, IISPV, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Sant Llorenç 21, 43201 Reus, Catalonia, Spain.
José Luis
JL
Domingo
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003257:Consumer Product Safety; D004032:Diet; D005260:Female; D005399:Fishes; D005504:Food Analysis / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis*; D064088:Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018570:Risk Assessment; D017747:Seafood / Q000032:analysis*; D012758:Shellfish / Q000032:analysis; D055815:Young Adult
Emerging pollutants; Fish and shellfish; Health benefits; Health risks; Online tools