Abstract
Potentially toxic metals (PTMs) in edible marine fish have been widely reported from at least 15 different regions or countries in the literature. This evidently demonstrates the importance of monitoring the PTMs in fish fillets from a human health risk (HHR) point of view. This study aims to assess the HHR of Cu and Zn in 19 species of marine fish from popular marine fish loading sites at Setiu in Terengganu, on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, collected between August 2016 and February 2017. With overall ranges of concentrations (mg/kg dry weight) of Cu (1.50–7.83), and Zn (24.1–80.5), the 19 species of marine fishes from Setiu are good sources of these essential elements because they are below the maximum permissible limits set by seafood safety guidelines. The target hazard quotient values of Cu and Zn were lower than one, indicating non-carcinogenic risks of Cu and Zn in fish consumption. It was also found that the calculated values of the estimated weekly intake were below the established provisional tolerable weekly intake of Cu and Zn. It can be concluded that the consumption of fish from Setiu would not pose adverse effects from the PTMs to consumers. Nonetheless, continuous monitoring is necessary to ensure the safety of consumers who rely heavily on marine fish in Setiu coastal waters.
Highlights
Among all the papers reviewed on the metals in edible fish, copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) were usually determined and reported in the literature
This indicates no non-carcinogenic risks of Cu and Zn for consumers
It was found that the calculated values of estimated weekly intake (EWI) were lower than the provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI) of Cu and Zn
Summary
Among all the papers reviewed on the metals in edible fish, copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) were usually determined and reported in the literature. This could be attributed to the fact that these are common essential elements with significant health benefits but yet potentially toxic metals (PTMs) when the dietary intake of these two metals is over the thresholds that could potentially pose a human health risk (HHR) [1]. The environmental health criteria of Cu and Zn are indicated by World Health Organization (WHO) [4,5] This demonstrates that Cu and Zn have been paid much attention in terms of their risks to environmental and human health. Cu is required for iron utilization and as a cofactor for enzymes involved in glucose metabolism and the synthesis of hemoglobin, connective tissue, and phospholipids [6,7,8,9,10]
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