Arsenic Exposure From Seafood Consumption

Abstract

Seafood and seafood products contain high levels of arsenic, and for most people, seafood is the major source of arsenic exposure. Arsenic has a complex chemistry in the marine environment and more than 100 different arsenic compounds have been identified. The toxicity of the various compounds depends on the chemical form; inorganic arsenic is highly toxic and classified as a class 1 human carcinogen. In seafood, most arsenic is organically bound and arsenic is mainly found as arsenobetaine, which is considered nontoxic. Seafood generally contains low levels of inorganic arsenic, and the consumption of seafood contributes little to the dietary intake of inorganic arsenic. In European adults, the main contributors to the dietary exposure of inorganic arsenic are grain-based processed products, rice, milk and dairy products, and drinking water. The mean dietary exposure to inorganic arsenic in the European population is within the ranges of established BMDLs, and a possible health risk cannot be excluded. Consumption of seafood with elevated levels of inorganic arsenic (e.g., some species of brown algae and bivalves) will increase the exposure to inorganic arsenic and result in an added health risk. The potential risk of elevated levels of inorganic arsenic in some types of seafood must therefore be recognized. Although inorganic arsenic is a human carcinogen, current international regulations on inorganic arsenic in food are scarce.