Journal of
Toxicology and Environmental Health Sciences

  • Abbreviation: J. Toxicol. Environ. Health Sci.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 2006-9820
  • DOI: 10.5897/JTEHS
  • Start Year: 2009
  • Published Articles: 218

Short Communication

Characteristic levels of heavy metals in canned tuna fish

Mani Mahalakshmi, Srinivasan Balakrishnan*, Kalyanasundram Indira and Muthukumarasamy Srinivasan  
Centre of Advanced Study in Marine Biology, Faculty of Marine Sciences, Annamalai University, Parangipettai – 608 502, Tamil Nadu, India.  
Email: [email protected]

  •  Accepted: 14 December 2011
  •  Published: 28 February 2012

Abstract

Concentrations of metals (aluminium, cadmium, lead and mercury) were determined from canned tuna commercialized in Canada and India, by inductively coupled plasma - optical emission spectrometer (ICP-OES) and direct mercury analyzer (DMA 80). Higher concentration of Al (1.806 to 3.161 µg/g) and Hg (0.60 to 0.62 µg/g) were found in tuna processed from India. Cd and Pb ranged from 0.020 to 0.025 and 0.011 to 0.089 µg/g respectively in Canadian canned tuna. Among metals, Cd showed lower values in both samples. In conclusion, highest levels of metals were accumulated in Indian made product. This can be attributed to differences in the canning process and quality of food. It was concluded that heavy metals in canned tuna must be monitored comprehensively and periodically with respect to the consumer health.

 

Key words: Canned tuna, heavy metals, inductively coupled plasma - optical emission spectrometer (ICP-OES), seafood.