Farmed Turkish salmon: Toxic metals and health threat

Introduction. Toxic metals in fish, even at low levels, have negative consequences for human health. Even essential metals pose a health threat if consumed in certain quantities. Mercury, cadmium, and lead are the most frequent metals containing in fish. The research objective was to inspect the quality of aquaculture fish found in most major grocery chains across Turkey. Study objects and methods. The present research featured the quantities of Zn, Fe, Cu, Al, Pb, Hg, and Cd in Turkish salmon. The sampling took place between February and June 2019. The cumulative carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risk for consumers was evaluated based on trace element levels in a prospective health risk assessment using the U.S. EPA model of lifetime exposure. Results and discussion. Fe proved to be the most abundant element in fish fillets, followed by Zn and Cu. Other elements appeared to be far below the permissible values, namely Al ≤ 0.5, Cd ≤ 0.02, Pb, and Hg ≤ 0.05. All the trace elements detected in Turkish salmon were below the reference dose values. The percent contribution to total risk by Fe, Cu, and Zn were 34.20, 24.80, and 41.01%, respectively. The hazard index was ≤ 1. The contamination of aquaculture fish fillet proved insignificant, and the carcinogenic risk was entirely negligible. Conclusion. The research revealed no hazardous trace elements, and their cumulative effects were not indicated in the hazardous index.