Toxic Metal Contamination and Total Organic Carbon Content in the Meat of the Main Fish Species Imported and Sold in Romanian’S Supermarkets
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Journal of Survey in Fisheries Sciences 6(2) 45-54 2020 Toxic metal contamination and total organic carbon content in the meat of the main fish species imported and sold in Romanian’s supermarkets Strungaru S.A.1, 4; Nicoara M.2, 4*; Gorban C.F.3; Paduraru E.4; Plavan G.I.2 Received: June 2019 Accepted: September 2019 Abstract In Romania as in Western Europe in the last years a mass panic installed among the consumers of cheap fish meat imported mostly from Vietnam – Pangasianodon hypophthalmus (S 1878). This problem was intensively fuelled by mass media and different movies uploaded on internet. The metal compounds, once released in the environment, can easily contaminate the food webs and finally the body of the highest rank consumers. The toxic metals in high concentrations are damaging the biological functions and in the end they may trigger the death of the organism (depending on the concentration and the body weight). These metals cannot be biodegraded in the environment; they are quickly transferred from the environment and accumulated in the biological tissues. This study investigated the level of arsenic, mercury, lead and cadmium in the meat of Pangasianodon hypophthalmus, Merluccius hubbsi, Scomber scombrus, from nine different brands using HR-CS GF-AAS and HG-AAS techniques. Keywords: Toxic metals, Total organic carbon, HR-CS GF-AAS, HG-AAS 1-Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iasi, Department of Research, Faculty of Biology, 700505 Iasi, Romania Downloaded from sifisheriessciences.com at 16:49 +0330 on Monday September 27th 2021 [ DOI: 10.18331/SFS2020.6.2.6 ] 2-Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iasi, Faculty of Biology, Department of Biology, 700505 Iasi, Romania 3-University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine “Ion Ionescu de la Brad”, Iasi, Aleea Mihail Sadoveanu nr. 3, 700490, Romania 4-Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iasi, Doctoral School of Geosciences, Faculty of Geography-Geology, Bd. Carol I, 700505, Iasi, Romania *Corresponding author's Email: [email protected] 46 Strungaru et al., Toxic metal contamination and total organic carbon content in the meat of the … Introduction metals resulted from anthropogenic Food resource contamination with activities can damage the terrestrial and various toxic compounds is an actual aquatic biota because they are problem for the entire human society accumulating very fast, they are toxic (Chaid et al., 2014; Yildirim et al., and they are not biodegradable (Ionescu 2009; Manthey-Karl et al., 2016; et al., 2016; Caunii et al., 2015; Micu et Guimarães et al., 2016; Vilavert et al., al., 2016). The development of 2017; Perugini et al., 2014; Madrid et analytical methods, and technology al., 2016; Plavan et al., 2017; significantly improved the quality and Strybgary et al., 2015), being associated speed of detection for toxic with severe health problems and death. contaminants in food. Mercury, arsenic, Fish meat is one of the cheapest animal cadmium and lead are the most toxic proteins that can be found on market in metals that can threat the human high amounts. There are two types of population if occur in high amounts. fish resources from where the consumer In this study we investigated the can chose to buy: fish produced by traces of mercury, arsenic, cadmium aquaculture industry and wild captured and lead in meat of Pangasianodon fish. Both of these resources are under hypophthalmus (panga fish), Scomber high anthropogenic pressure. For scombrus (Atlantic mackerel) and instance, the aquaculture industry is Merluccius hubbsi (Argentine hake) involving a series of chemicals harmful from nine brands with different origins, for human health (aquatic pollutants, common in the Romanian antibiotics, hormones and artificial fish supermarkets, using the methods HR- food). The environmental pollution and CS GF-AAS and HG-AAS. Total the industrial fishing that damage the organic carbon content was measured aquatic ecosystems are playing the for each brand, this being related to the major role in case of the wild fish fish meat quality. resource. The meat of panga fish became popular among the consumer Experimental part thanks to its low price, texture, no smell The fish was purchased from three and merchandising form into filets with different supermarkets located in the no skin and spine (Ruiz-de-Cenzano et City of Iasi, Romania. These are the al., 2013, Ionescu et al., 2016). In most largest from this city and belong to of the cases, the regular consumer is same franchise that has same Downloaded from sifisheriessciences.com at 16:49 +0330 on Monday September 27th 2021 [ DOI: 10.18331/SFS2020.6.2.6 ] influenced by the product price and not supermarket brand all around Romania. by quality. Panga fish meat requires Because of the globalization same high industrial processing techniques product that belongs to a brand can be (Orban et al., 2008) compared with found everywhere. Each supermarket wild captured fish like Merluccius may have different providers for the hubbsi (Marini, 1933) and Scomber same product. In this study it was scombrus (Linnaeus, 1758). The toxic purchased from each supermarket once Journal of Survey in Fisheries Sciences 6(2) 2020 47 per month from February to April a bag from double distilled water; for of frozen fish or 1 kg self-weighting calibration were used certified standard bag for each studied species: solutions from Merck for arsenic (As), Pangasianodon hypophthalmus, mercury (Hg), lead (Pb) and cadmium Merluccius hubbsi and Scomber (Cd) with each concentration of 1000 scombrus. These products are the mg L-1; mercury was measured with cheapest fish from the market. In the cold vapour hydride generator coupled supermarkets we found for same to AAS that required a sodium species different brands. The panga fish borohydride solution and hydrochloric was found only in industrial processed acid (3M, Merck). For the total organic frozen fillets. Atlantic mackerel and carbon measurements the meat Argentine hake were originated from homogenate was dried at 75°C and captured oceanic fish and they were grinded again to a fine powder. This commercialized frozen with or without was analysed in triplicates for each guts. sample, using the direct combustion at 1300°C in solid module coupled to Sample preparation Focus Radiation NDIR detector, multi The samples were transported in N/C 2100S produced by AnalytikJena laboratory and prepared according to Germany. the following protocol: fish purchased every month was unfrosted and the Validation of method and results water excess was removed using clean A total number of 243 samples were paper towels; from each brand it was prepared and analysed in this study for sampled with PE tools a mas of 10 g of the metals content. We used fish muscle muscle per sample (in triplicates n=3) dry powder certified by European that was well homogenized in an agate Reference Material ERM-BB422 from mortar with pestle; from this Joint Research Centre Institute for homogenate was weighted a mas of 1 g Reference Materials and Measurements in triplicates that were inserted in TFM to validate the method optimization and vessels and mixed for digestion with the results. We prepared 6 samples from nitric acid (4 mL, 65% Suprapur this material by weighting a mass of 0.3 Merck) and hydrogen peroxide (1 mL, g that followed same protocol as a Merck) (Plavan et al., 2017; Strungaru normal sample. Arsenic, cadmium and et al., 2015) after 25 minutes of reaction lead were measured with HR-CS GF- Downloaded from sifisheriessciences.com at 16:49 +0330 on Monday September 27th 2021 [ DOI: 10.18331/SFS2020.6.2.6 ] the vessels were inserted in Speedwave AAS model ContrAA 600 produced by MWS-2 produced by Berghof using a AnalytikJena Germany, which was specific program (Plavan et al., 2017; optimized for this sample matrix. Strungaru et al., 2015); the resulted Mercury was measured with cold liquid samples were transferred into 50 vapour hydride generator coupled to mL volumetric flasks (Brand) and AAS model Avanta produced by GBC diluted with ultrapure water produced Australia. Argon 5.0 (99.99%) was used 48 Strungaru et al., Toxic metal contamination and total organic carbon content in the meat of the … as carrier gas. The results for validation large suggesting that not all the fishes obtained after the analysis of the are originated from same aquaculture reference material were: As – certified system. The concentrations were: value of 12.7±0.7 µg g-1 and obtained Brand_1 with 1.38±1.79 µg g-1, value of 11.5±0.5 µg g-1; Hg - certified Brand_2 with 2.33±2.98 µg g-1 and value of 0.601±0.03 µg g-1 and obtained Brand_3 with 1.55±2.01 µg g-1. value of 0.65±0.4 µg g-1; Cd – certified The Argentine hake had significant value of 0.0075±0.0018 µg g-1 and variations between the brands (*p<0.05) obtained value of 0.0081±0.0012 µg g- with large confidence intervals of 1; Pb – was not presented in standard values suggesting that they may be certificate and for our method was mixed with fish from different below LOD. catchment areas exposed to pollution sources, possible close to the shore. The Statistical analysis concentrations were: Brand_4 with Shapiro-Wilk normality test was 2.17±2.95 µg g-1, Brand_5 with performed for the data sets. One-way 2.2±2.86 µg g-1 and Brand_6 with ANOVA followed by the Tukey HSD 1.32±1.87 µg g-1. For the Atlantic test was conducted to demonstrate the mackerel no differences between brands significant variance of toxic metal were observed (p>0.05). The between the brands and fish species concentrations were: Brand_7 with (Plavan et al., 2017; Strungaru, 2015).