title: Cadmium, lead, tin, total mercury, and methylmercury in canned tuna commercialised in São Paulo, Brazil.
abstract: The objective of this work was to determine levels of inorganic contaminants in 30 samples of five commercial brands of canned tuna, acquired on the local market in Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil, in the year of 2015. Total mercury and methylmercury (MeHg+) were determined by atomic absorption with thermal decomposition and amalgamation; and cadmium, lead, and tin were determined by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry. Results indicated that 20% of the tuna samples surpassed limits determined by the Brazilian and European Commission legislation for cadmium; for lead, the maximum value found was 59 µg kg-1and tin was not detected in any samples. The maximum values found for total Hg and MeHg+ were 261 and 258 µg kg-1, respectively. As from the results obtained, it was estimated that the consumption of four cans per week (540 g) of tuna canned in water could surpass the provisional tolerable monthly intake for MeHg+by 100%.
authors.affiliation: a Institute of Food Technology (ITAL) , Campinas , SP , Brazil.
authors.forename: Esther Lima
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: de Paiva
authors.affiliation: a Institute of Food Technology (ITAL) , Campinas , SP , Brazil.
authors.forename: Marcelo Antonio
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Morgano
authors.affiliation: a Institute of Food Technology (ITAL) , Campinas , SP , Brazil.
authors.forename: Raquel Fernanda
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Milani
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil; D002104:Cadmium / Q000737:chemistry; D005396:Fish Products; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis*; D005519:Food Preservation; D007854:Lead / Q000737:chemistry; D008628:Mercury / Q000737:chemistry; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000737:chemistry*; D008767:Methylmercury Compounds / Q000737:chemistry; D014001:Tin / Q000737:chemistry; D014413:Tuna
chemical_list: D019216:Metals, Heavy; D008767:Methylmercury Compounds; D002104:Cadmium; D007854:Lead; D014001:Tin; D008628:Mercury
keywords: cadmium; canned tuna; estimate of ingestion; lead; mercury; methylmercury; risk of exposure; tin