LEVELS OF SELECTED HEAVY METALS IN TUNA FISH

摘要

Over the last few decades, there has been growing interest in determining heavy metal levels in the marine environment and attention was drawn to the measurement of contamination levels in public food supplies, particularly fish. Toxicological and environmental studies have prompted interest in the determination of toxic elements in food. The ingestion of food is an obvious means of exposure to metals, not only because many metals are natural components of foodstuffs but also because of environmental contamination and contamination during processing. With the exception of occupational exposure, fish are acknowledged to be the single largest source of mercury for man. In some instances, fish catches were banned for human consumption because their total mercury content exceeded the maximum limits recommended by the FAO & WHO. The likelihood of mercury toxicity from fish consumption has been identified in other parts of the world.