Determination of allowable levels of mercury in canned Yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares)

Nowadays, fish has been considered as one of the most important natural resources to provide nutritional requirements and support human health worldwide. On the other hand, seafood consumption has been reported as an important route of human exposure to a variety of chemical contaminants including heavy metals such as mercury. In this study total mercury levels were measured in 30 canned Yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) from Famyla company product and then were compared with international standards. Weekly limit consumption based on the limit provided by the World Health Organization was provided. Wet digestion method was used and the samples were analyzed by ICP-OES. The results showed that the average concentration of mercury in this product was 0.126 μg/g of wet weight which was less than the allowable amount for human consumption determined by the international organizations such as WHO, FAO, USEPA, FDA, EC and MAFF. In this study, average available methyl mercury in canned Yellowfin tuna was 0.126 μg/g of wet weight which is less than the safety level of methyl mercury in fish. Risk index (HQ) was below 1 (0.54) therefore, the consumption of this product is not a serious threat to the consumer’s health and according to USEPA and JECFA standards, consumption of 2-3 meals of canned Yellowfin tuna per week is allowed.