Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 94 (2020) 103638

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Journal of Food Composition and Analysis

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Original Research Article

Lead, cadmium and mercury in canned and unprocessed tuna: six-years

monitoring survey, comparison with previous studies and recommended
tolerable limits
Oto Miedico a, *, Ciro Pompa a, Sebastiano Moscatelli a, Andrea Chiappinelli a,
Leonardo Carosielli b, A. Eugenio Chiaravalle a
a
Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Puglia e della Basilicata, Via Manfredonia 20, 71121, Foggia, Italy
b
Local Health Authority Unit of Foggia, Italy

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Fishery products, in particular those belonging to tuna species, widely present in the human diet, may represent a
Food analysis toxicological issue because of the level of contamination by heavy metals (e.g., lead, cadmium and mercury) and
tuna the average per capita consumption. Control of food safety is one of the pillars to the public health safeguard,
heavy metals
therefore the official laboratories are in charge of checking the compliance of food products with quality stan­
mercury
food composition
dards for these toxic elements.. From 2014 to 2019, 108 tuna samples, canned or unprocessed, were checked at
the laboratory of the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Puglia e della Basilicata (Italy). One canned tuna
was non-compliant for cadmium (0.22 mg kg-1), and twelve fresh tuna samples (11% of total) showed mercury
content above the permitted level. Mean mercury concentrations in fresh and canned tuna (0.517 and 0.207 mg
kg-1, respectively) confirm that this element represents a serious toxicological issue. Exposition to mercury, and
markedly in its organic form, due to tuna consumption, was found to be significant and may pose a risk for the
most sensitive consumer groups (i.e., children).

1. INTRODUCTION in Europa per i consumi,” 2018).

Fishery products are widely present in the human diet and they are
considered a main source of nutrients. They contribute to a healthy diet
by providing essential amino acids and other health-enhancing nutrients
such as vitamins, minerals and essential omega-3 fatty acids (Domingo
et al., 2007). The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has recently
revalued the role of seafood in European diets, assessing the beneficial
effects of its consumption on health outcomes, and recommending a fish
consumption of 1–2 fish-based meals per week (EFSA Scientific Com­
mittee, 2015); a similar recommendation was proposed by the World
Health Organization and Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO/WHO, 2011). In particular, in Italy the average per capita con­
sumption of fish is about of 28 kg/year (“Pesce, Italia leader in Europa
per i consumi,” 2018), three kg more than the European average (FAO,
2018). Tuna, generally commercialized both canned and unprocessed, is
among the most consumed fish species: about 2.5 kg/year per capita of
canned tuna based products are consumed in Italy (“Pesce, Italia leader
Although highly nutritious, high consumption of some fish can have
significant adverse effects on human health due to the bioaccumulation
of lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), and other heavy metals,
which enter into fish muscles from the surrounding aquatic environment
(Castro-González and Méndez-Armenta, 2008). These three metals are
considered the most important pollutants of the aquatic environment
because of their toxicity and accumulation in marine organisms, and for
their high degree of persistence in the environment.
Though heavy metals are natural trace contaminants of the aquatic
environment, their levels have increased due to industrial, agricultural
and mining activities. Even low metal concentrations may threaten the
health of aquatic and terrestrial organisms, man included (Sarmiento
et al., 2011). Hg is one of the most abundant toxic metals and it is an
element of special concern because its inorganic form is biologically
transformed in aquatic environments (Olmedo et al., 2013). Tipically,
the total mercury (t-Hg) content in fish can consist of a combination of
several Hg species: methylmercury (Me-Hg), ethyl-mercury (Et-Hg) and

* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: oto.miedico@izspb.it (O. Miedico), ciro.pompa@izspb.it (C. Pompa), andrea.chiappinelli@izspb.it (A. Chiappinelli), eugenio.chiaravalle@izspb.
it (A.E. Chiaravalle).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfca.2020.103638
Received 4 May 2020; Received in revised form 26 August 2020; Accepted 28 August 2020
Available online 3 September 2020
0889-1575/© 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
O. Miedico et al. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 94 (2020) 103638

inorganic mercury (In-Hg) (Baishaw et al., 2007). The level of toxicity of
these species differs depending on their degree of solubility and specif­
ically relies on their ability to combine with functional sulfydryl groups
of enzymes (Tchounwou et al., 2003). Consequently, the higher solu­
bility of Me-Hg compared to the other forms results in its higher
bioavailability and higher toxicity. Moreover, Me-Hg is highly mobile,
slow to metabolize and accumulates with toxic effects in both humans
and animals. The organic form Me-Hg is of particular concern, due to its
significant neurotoxic property (Ström et al., 2011). Hence, Me-Hg can
be considered as the most toxic and the most abundant Hg species
(75–100% of t-Hg in some fish) (Burger and Gochfeld, 2004).
In the present paper, we report the results of the analyses of Pb, Cd
and Hg in canned and unprocessed tuna, carried out within the official
control plans by the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Puglia e
della Basilicata (IZS-PB) and their compliance with European Commis­
sion Regulation No. 1881/2006 (European Comision, 2006), that es­
tablishes the maximum limits allowed for Pb, Cd and Hg, equal to 0.30,
0.10 and 1.0 mg kg-1 of fresh weight (f.w.), respectively. Finally, based
on the results obtained, a discussion about the assessment of exposure to
Hg, the element of greatest toxicological interest, is presented.
2. MATERIAL AND METHODS
2.1. Sampling
Overall, 108 samples of fish products belonging to tuna species
(genus of Thunnus, South, 1845) were delivered to the chemical labo­
ratory of IZS-PB during six-years period (2014-2019). They were
collected in the context of official controls for food, withdrawn by the
territorially competent authorities (Veterinary Services of Local Health
Unit, Border Inspection Posts, and Veterinarian Offices for Community
Compliance). Of all samples, 27 were canned tuna without species
identification and 81 were unprocessed tuna. Among the latter, only for
48 samples the taxonomic species was declared in the sampling report:
45 samples of Thunnus albacares (yellowfin tuna) and 3 of Katsuwuonus
pelamis (skipjack tuna). The number of samples analysed was about 14
per year (2014-2018), and 37 in 2019.
2.2. Chemicals
68% (v/v) HNO3, 30% (v/v) H2O2 and ultrapure water were pur­
chased from Romil Ltd. (Cambridge, UK); Pb, Cd and Hg standard so­
lutions (1000 mg L-1) were supplied by VWR international Ltd.
(Leicestershire, England). Ultrapure argon (99.9999% purity) were
purchased from SAPIO s.r.l. (Monza, MI, Italy).
Golden, USA), baffled cyclonic spray chamber (Glass Expansion, Inc.,
West Melbourne, Australia) and quartz torch with quartz injector tube
(two mm internal diameter) was used for trace element quantification.
The operational parameters were as follows: radio frequency power:
1200 Watt; plasma gas (argon, Ar) flow rate: 15 L min-1; nebulizer gas
(Ar) flow rate: 0.97 L min-1; sample flush: 60 sec; sample flush speeding:
32 rpm; read delay: 20 sec; read delay and analysis speeding: 20 rpm;
wash: 45 sec; wash speeding: 32 rpm; dwell time: 50 ms; sweeps/
reading: 20. Rhodium and Bismuth (both at 200 ng mL-1) were used as
internal standards, added to standard and sample solution by on-line
mixing.
The following isotopes were detected: 111Cd, 202Hg and the sum of
206
Pb, 207Pb and 208Pb in order to eliminate the intrinsic variability of Pb
isotope distribution and to improve the signal sensitivity. The linearity
was verified adopting five calibration levels. A good linearity was
observed in the calibration range set for each element with determina­
tion coefficient (R2) higher than 0.998. Limit of quantification (LOQ)
values of the method, for each element, were determined by blank
determination assays, as ten times standard deviation of 20 blank rep­
licates. The LOQ values are: 0.0043 mg kg-1 of fresh weigh (f.w.) for Cd,
0.012 mg kg-1 f.w. for Pb and Hg.
For the method quality control purposes (verification of precision
and accuracy), IAEA 407 fish muscle (purchased from International
Atomic Energy Agency) was used as certified reference material. The
repeatability of the method was less than 10% for all three elements, the
accuracy between 96.3% (Cd) and 105% (Pb). For the purposes of sta­
tistical analysis, values below LOQ have been replaced with LOQ 2-1/2
(Ogden, 2010).
Two replicates of each sample were analysed, and the trace element
concentrations were evaluated as the mean of the two replicates. Vali­
dation parameters which characterize the analytical procedure are re­
ported in Table 1.
2.4. Statistical analysis
Metal concentrations in tuna samples were statistically analysed by
using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. Data were not normally distributed,
so in addition to mean values (and standard deviation) median, mini­
mum, maximum and the first and third quartiles are also presented.
Additionally, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was employed to
compare the average contents between the different samples. Results
were considered statistically significant at p value of <0.05. Statistical
evaluations were made by using MetaboAnalyst 4.0 web application
(Chong et al., 2019), based on R computing system (version “R v3.6.3”
of February 2020).

2.3. Determination of concentrations of Pb, Cd and Hg 3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The samples were analysed for Pb, Cd and Hg content, by applying Results of determinations (average, standard deviation, minimum,
two standard methods, EN 13805:2014 "Determination of trace ele­ maximum, first (Q1) and third (Q3) quartile) of Pb, Cd and Hg in tuna
ments. Digestion under pressure" (EN 13805, 2014) and EN 15763:2009 samples are summarized in Table 2.
"Determination of arsenic, cadmium, mercury and lead in food" (EN
15763, 2009).
For the digestion under pressure, an Ethos-One Microwave Reaction
System (Milestone s.r.l. Sorisole, Bergamo, Italy) was used; 1.00 g ± Table 1
0.0001 g of homogenized sample was weighed using an analytical bal­ Validation parameters and reference material analysis.
ance (Mettler Toledo s.p.a., Novate Milanese, Milan, Italy) into a Teflon IAEA 407 fish muscle (mg
LOQ
vessel; six mL of 68% (v/v) HNO3 and two mL of 30% (v/v) H2O2 were (mg kg- Determination kg-1 of dried weight)
added and the vessels were placed into Microwave Reaction System. The Element 1
of f. Coefficient (R2) Certified Measured Recovery
complete digestion was obtained by the following T program: up to 120 w.) Value ± U Value ± U (%)
◦
C in 15 min and constant for 10 min; up to 190 ◦ C in 15 min and
Cd 0.0043 0.9999 0.189 ± 0.182 ± 96.3
constant for 20 min; cooling stage (30 min) to reach room temperature. 0.004 0.015
Afterwards, the solution was transferred into polypropylene disposable Hg 0.012 0.9986 0.222 ± 0.230 ± 103.6
tubes and diluted to 50 mL with ultrapure water for subsequent analysis. 0.006 0.020
Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS, PerkinElmer Pb 0.012 0.9982 0.120 ± 0.126 ± 105.0
0.020 0.016
Elan DRC II), equipped with concentric nebulizer (Meinhard Associates,

2
O. Miedico et al. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 94 (2020) 103638

3.1. Lead and Cadmium contamination level
Concentrations of Pb in all 108 samples presented levels below the
allowed limit (0.30 mg kg-1 of f.w.), and were compliant to European
Commission Regulation No. 1881/2006 (European Comision, 2006): 72
samples (67% of the total), including three samples of skipjack tuna
(100% of the total), 22 samples of canned tuna (about 81% of the total),
25 samples of fresh yellowfin tuna (55% of the total) and 22 samples of
unidentified fresh tuna (67% of the total), showed a Pb level below LOQ
(0.012 mg kg-1 f.w.). The maximum value (0.25 mg kg-1) was found in
unspecified fresh tuna, while the highest Pb value in canned tuna was
0.082 mg kg-1.
The Cd contamination level in one sample of canned tuna was non-
compliant to the European Commission Regulation No. 1881/2006
(European Comision, 2006), as it had a Cd concentration of 0.22 mg kg-1
(more than two times the allowed limit of 0.1 mg kg-1 f.w.), obtained
taking into account the transformation factor. One sample of unspecified
fresh tuna showed a concentration of 0.114 mg kg-1, beyond the allowed
limit, but compliant taking into account the measurement uncertainty,
according to European Commission Regulation No. 333/2007 (Euro­
pean Comision, 2007). Only eight samples (7.4% of the total) had a
concentration below LOQ (0.0043 mg kg-1 of f.w.). No significant dif­
ference was found between canned tuna (mean concentration 0.029 ±
0.041 mg kg-1) and fresh yellowfin tuna (0.013 ± 0.011 mg kg-1),
because a high variability was associated to the average values.
Table 3 reports a comparison with the results of the most recent
studies in the same food matrices. The results of contamination levels of
Pb and Cd measured in the present study confirm the limited accumu­
lation of these two heavy metals by tuna fish species which are generally
in line with values found by other authors (Abolghait and Garbaj, 2015;
Galimberti et al., 2016; Jinadasa et al., 2019), with the exception of
Okyere et al. (Okyere et al., 2015) who found about 10 times more Cd
(0.30 mg kg-1) in canned tuna, and Araújo and Cedeño-Macias (Araújo
and Cedeño-Macias, 2016) who found a very high content of Cd (mean
concentration of 2.4 mg kg-1 and median concentration of 0.24 mg kg-1)
in fresh Thunnus albacares.
3.2. Mercury contamination level
The results of Hg contamination showed different scenarios. Three
samples of fresh tuna were found to be non-compliant, with a content of
2.46, 2.63 and 1.74 mg kg-1 f.w. In addition, nine samples showed a
concentration beyond the allowed limit, but compliant taking into ac­
count the evaluated uncertainty, according to European Commission
Regulation No. 333/2007 (European Comision, 2007).
Bosh et al. (Bosch et al., 2016) reported that 28.6% of the samples
analysed were above the maximum allowable limit (1.0 mg kg-1 f.w.),
while in the present study the percentage is 11.1%, including all the
samples above the limit regardless of uncertainty.
Hg contamination in canned tuna of the present study was highly
comparable with other recent studies, ranking from the minimum value
of 0.16 mg kg-1 found by Okyere et al. to the maximum value of 0.30 mg
kg-1 found by Afonso et al. (Abolghait and Garbaj, 2015; Afonso et al.,
2015; Alva et al., 2019; Okyere et al., 2015). On the other hand, the t-Hg
content in fresh Thunnus albacares showed very different level of
contamination in the monitoring studies from other groups around the
world. The present study showed an intermediate ranking of t-Hg level
in fresh Thunnus albacares: Araujo and Cedeno-Macias (Araújo and
Cedeño-Macias, 2016) and Afonso et al. (Afonso et al., 2015) found high
mean values of t-Hg: 1.4 mg kg-1 and 0.91 mg kg-1 in Ecuadorian coast
and Portugal, respectively. Bodin et al. (Bodin et al., 2017) found an
intermediate mean value of t-Hg (0.375 mg kg-1) while Ordiano-Flores
et al. (Ordiano-Flores et al., 2011) found the lowest content of t-Hg,
0.15 mg kg-1.
The results obtained in the present study (see Table 2) are in line with
the results widely reported in the literature (see Table 3). They show that
the main problem of contamination in tuna is represented by Hg: tuna is
a large predatory fish and therefore subjected to the phenomenon of
biomagnification. There is a statistically significant difference (p =
0.007) between canned tuna (0.207 mg kg-1) and unprocessed tuna
(0.548 mg kg-1 for yellowfin and 0.492 mg kg-1 for unspecified tuna),
probably ascribable to the fish species and above all to the trans­
formation process used in the production of canned tuna (cooking,
addition of food preservatives, etc …). This difference in Hg levels was
also found by Afonso et al. (Afonso et al., 2015) who suggested that the
difference can be ascribed to the selection of smaller and younger tuna
by the canning industry, thereby minimizing the Hg biomagnification
problem.
3.3. Human health and food safety
In addition to the benefits associated with the consumption of fish
products (Domingo et al., 2007; EFSA Scientific Committee, 2015), their
use as food exposes to ingestion of hazardous substances, including the
heavy metals such as Pb, Cd and Hg. They are rightly considered a threat
for public health due to their highly toxic effects when absorbed by
organisms. The risk of toxicity is determined by the concentrations of the
metals in edible tissues and the amount of fish consumed (Ordiano-­
Flores et al., 2011).
The exposure level to Cd is very low compared to Tolerable Weekly
Intake (TWI) established by EFSA (EFSA Scientific Committee, 2009)
equal to 2.5 μg kg-1 of body weigh per week: assuming an average
consumption of 200 g per week, the exposure to Cd is equal to 5.9 μg for
canned tuna and 2.6 μg for fresh yellowfin tuna, against the limits of 175
and 50 μg allowed for adults and children, respectively.
The results of exposure to Pb showed an even more reassuring

Table 2
Concentration (mg kg-1 f.w.) and statistical analysis of Pb, Cd and Hg in 108 tuna samples.
Pb Cd Hg

Number of Mean (std. Median (Min-Max) Mean (std. Median (Min-Max) Mean (std. Median (Min-Max) Estimation of Me-
samples dev.) [Q1, Q3] dev.) [Q1, Q3] dev.) [Q1, Q3] Hg (91%)

Canned tuna 27 0.0128 0.0085 (0.0085- 0.0295 0.021 (0.0031-0.22) 0.207 0.146 (0.031-0.764) 0.188
(0.0146) 0.082) [0.0085, (0.0415) [0.0115, 0.0280] (0.175) [0.0915, 0.263]
0.0085]
fresh Thunnus 45 0.0183 0.0085 (0.0085- 0.0132 0.020 (0.0031-0.050) 0.548 0.435 (0.107-2.46) 0.498
albacares (0.0245) 0.162) [0.0085, (0.0119) [0.0050, 0.017] (0.429) [0.273, 0.609]
0.017]
fresh Katsuwonus 3 0.0085 0.0247 0.0074 (0.017-0.037) 0.398 0.565 (0.043-0.585) 0.362
pelamis (0.0108) (0.307)
unspecified fresh 33 0.0271 0.0085 (0.0085-0.25) 0.021 0.014 (0.005-0.114) 0.492 0.286 (0.036-2.63) 0.448
tuna (0.0457) [0.0085, 0.027] (0.0208) [0.010, 0.023] (0.564) [0.133, 0.590]
non-compliant samples: n = 0 non-compliant samples: n = 1 non-compliant samples: n = 3
samples over the limit: n = 0 samples over the limit: n = 1 samples over the limit: n = 9

3
O. Miedico et al. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 94 (2020) 103638

Table 3
Comparison with recent similar studies.
Pb Cd t-Hg

canned tuna fresh Thunnus canned tuna fresh Thunnus canned tuna fresh Thunnus
albacares albacares albacares

Italy (Present study) 0.0128 ± 0.014 0.0183 ± 0.024 (n 0.0295 ± 0.041 0.0132 ± 0.012 (n 0.207 ± 0.18 (n 0.548 ± 0.43 (n =
(n = 27) = 45) (n = 27) = 45) = 27) 45)
Ghana, Africa (Okyere et al., 2015) 0.01 – 0.30* (n = 0.30 ± 0.29 (n = 0.16 ± 0.03 (n =
10) 13) 15)
Ecuadorian coast (Araújo and Cedeño- 0.07 ± 0.06 (n = 2.4 ± 5.1 (n = 29) 1.4 ± 1.3 (n = 44)
Macias, 2016) 29)
South Africa (Bosch et al., 2016) 0.77 (n = 14)
Portugal (Afonso et al., 2015) 0.30 ± 0.23 (n = 0.91 ± 1.06 (n =
5) 5)
Mexico (Ordiano-Flores et al., 0.15 ± 0.10 (n =
2012) 37)
Brazil (Alva et al., 2019) 0.256 ± 0.215 (n
= 69)
Western Indian (Bodin et al., 2017) 0.375 ± 0.166 (n
Ocean = 5)
Italy (Galimberti et al., 2016) 0.010 (n = 16) 0.008 (n = 45) 0.350 (n = 61)
Libya (Abolghait and Garbaj, 0.075 ± 0.071 (n 0.027 ± 0.026 (n 0.163 ± 0.122 (n
2016) = 20) = 20) = 20)
*
one sample equal to 0.30 mg kg-1; 9 samples below the limit of quantification of 0.01 mg kg-1.

situation, both for the lower average content (in the case of canned
tuna), and for the tolerance limit about ten times higher (25 μg kg-1 of b.
w. per week). It should be noted that for Pb the tolerance limit of 25 μg
kg-1 of b.w. per week is no longer valid, but to be revised downward by
EFSA (EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain, 2010). Assuming
an average consumption of 200 g per week, the exposure to Pb is equal to
2.6 μg for canned tuna and 3.7 μg for fresh yellowfin tuna, against the
limits of 1750 and 500 μg allowed (provisionally) for adults and chil­
dren, respectively.
Conversely, Hg contamination represents a serious concern, mainly
because of its organic form Me-Hg, that shows a higher level of toxicity.
As previously reported, EFSA stated the following TWI level for Hg
species: 1.3 μg kg-1 of b.w. and 4.0 μg kg-1 of b.w for methylated and
inorganic forms, respectively (EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food
Chain, 2012). Several studies report a percentage of Me-Hg between
75% and 100% of the total Hg. For discussion in the present study, in
accordance with Storelli et al. (2002) it was adopted the assumption that
91% of t-Hg is in the form of Me-Hg.
As showed in Fig. 1, a weekly consumption of 100 g of canned tuna
(about 2 cans commonly marketed) leads to the ingestion of a quantity
of 18.8 μg of Me-Hg, which is just below the limit of 26 μg for children,
considering the TWI of 1.3 μg kg-1 b.w. and a weight of 20 kg. Alongside,
this threshold limit of 26 μg of Me-Hg is substantially reached with a
consumption of about 50 g/week of unprocessed tuna (24.9 μg). For
adults (assuming a mean body weight of 70 kg), the limit threshold of 91
μg of Me-Hg is reached with a consumption of about 182 g/week of fresh
tuna and 484 g/week of canned tuna.
These data are in line with the EFSA final document (EFSA Panel on
Contaminants in the Food Chain, 2012), where it is concluded that the
Fig. 1. Exposure to Me-Hg through the consumption of tuna.
average dietary exposure between age groups does not exceed TWI for
Me-Hg, with the exception of young children, while for fairly regular
consumers they are close to or higher than TWI for all age groups, up to
exceeding the TWI up to about six times for high consumers. A special
attention has to be paid to pregnant women if they are present in the
group of high and frequent fish consumers, because unborn children
constitute the most vulnerable group for developmental effects of Me-Hg
exposure (EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain, 2012).
Finally, as requested by EFSA, we share the need to produce
analytical data by speciation of Hg, on which to base accurate exposure
and risk assessment studies, without the use of theoretical assumptions.
At the same time, the evaluation of the bio-accessibility of Me-Hg in
different types of meals prepared with unprocessed and processed tuna
can make a further contribution to the study of effective Hg exposure
and its related risk assessment.
4. CONCLUSIONS
In this study, 108 samples of tuna food products were collected and
analysed for the determination of three toxic trace elements, Pb, Cd and
Hg. The analyses were carried out using a standard multi-elemental
analytical method based on the inductively coupled plasma mass spec­
trometry. The results were statistically treated and compared to other
recent similar studies worldwide. For Pb and Cd, the contamination
levels were comparable with other studies. Pb and Cd concentrations
either in fresh and canned tuna commercialized in south-Italian market
did not surpass the toxicological standard levels (European Comision,
2006), and accordingly there was minor food safety concerns of Pb and
Cd toxicity from eating tuna therein. Moreover, the results show a low
trend to bioaccumulation of Pb and Cd in tuna muscle, with a conse­
quent low toxicological risk related to the consumption of these species.
Nevertheless, the continuous fishery products surveillance is endorsed
by having found a non-compliant for Cd canned tuna sample.
Conversely, the contamination level of t-Hg, mostly especially in
yellowfin tuna species, showed a completely different scenario: a sig­
nificant percentage (11%) of the samples were above the limit of t-Hg
content, although this percentage is in line with other studies or even
lower.
The consumption of tuna-based meal may raise serious issues for
regular consumers of fish products. The intake of Hg and its methylated
form can reach levels that exceed the tolerable intake and consequently
lead to a chronic intoxication. Therefore, considering that the con­
sumption of these products is widespread, it is desirable to set

4
O. Miedico et al.
appropriate control plans by the competent authorities at Community
level. Moreover, a continuous monitoring of Hg concentration in tuna
products is essential for food safety.
Funding
This research did not receive any specific grant from funding
agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. Research
and preparation of the article have been carried out entirely by internal
resources of the “Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Puglia e
della Basilicata”.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors Oto Miedico, Ciro Pompa, Sebastiano Moscatelli, Leo­
nardo Carosielli, Andrea Chiappinelli, and A. Eugenio Chiaravalle
declare that they have not a financial or personal relationship with other
people or organizations that could inappropriately influence or bias the
present paper.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Oto Miedico: Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Data curation,
Project administration, Writing - original draft, Writing - review &
editing. Ciro Pompa: Writing - original draft, Investigation, Resources.
Sebastiano Moscatelli: Investigation, Resources. Andrea Chiappi­
nelli: Formal analysis, Writing - review & editing. Leonardo Carosielli:
Writing - review & editing, Investigation. A. Eugenio Chiaravalle:
Supervision, Project administration, Funding acquisition.
Acknowledgments
Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Puglia e della Basilicata
(Foggia, Italy) is thanked for providing financial support
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