Assessment of mercury contamination in the marketed shrimp in Tehran: A health consideration

Mercury contamination of aquatic ecosystem, due to its bioaccumul-ation, persistence, high risk and poisoning has become a concern in recent years. Consumption of shrimp as a rich source of protein, peptides, amino acid and minerals (Cu, Mg, Zn, I) is growing up. The purpose of the present study is to determine the mercury content of shrimp in Tehran market and compare this with international limits. For this purpose, 19 samples were collected randomly from different retail markets in different parts of Tehran and their mercury content was measured by Mercury Analyzer DMA-80 with standard method ASTM D6722. The results were compared using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). It was found that, the mean level of mercury in muscles of all examined samples was 76.44±8.59 ppb, that is in agreement with the existing data and lower than the WHO and FAO guideline (500 ppb). Shrimp consumption considering its mercury content is permitted in Tehran and has no serious risk to human health.