Chemical contaminants in fish, shellfish and fish products on the Serbian market

Abstract

Fish meat and fish products are usually considered as healthy foods, mostly because of their content of unsaturated fatty acids, which have a beneficial effect on human health. On the Serbian market, fish and shellfish are commonly present as fresh, frozen and canned, but not regulating and monitoring the existence of high levels of different chemical hazards can lead to human health problems. The aim of the present paper is to provide an overview of the contamination of fish and their products from the Serbian market with regard to the most significant chemical hazards. The following contaminants are considered: lead, mercury, cadmium, arsenic, copper, iron and zinc representing heavy metals and metalloids; endrin, aldrin, dieldrin, lindane, endosulfans, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and its derivatives as the most significant organochlorine pesticides and; benzo(a)pyrene, benz(a)anthracene, benzo(b)fluoranthene and chrysene as four priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH4). Bearing in mind that there is no food, including fish and fish products, that does not contain harmful substances and various hazards, there is a need at national and lower levels to constantly monitor these hazards, establish maximum allowable level (MAL) and carry out risk assessments for each of them.