Effects of steaming on contaminants of emerging concern levels in seafood.

Seafood consumption is a major route for human exposure to environmental contaminants of emerging concern (CeCs). However, toxicological information about the presence of CeCs in seafood is still insufficient, especially considering the effect of cooking procedures on contaminant levels. This study is one among a few who evaluated the effect of steaming on the levels of different CeCs (toxic elements, PFCs, PAHs, musk fragrances and UV-filters) in commercially relevant seafood in Europe, and estimate the potential risks associated with its consumption for consumers. In most cases, an increase in contaminant levels was observed after steaming, though varying according to contaminant and seafood species (e.g. iAs, perfluorobutanoate, dibenzo(ah)anthracene in Mytilus edulis, HHCB-Lactone in Solea sp., 2-Ethylhexyl salicylate in Lophius piscatorius). Furthermore, the increase in some CeCs, like Pb, MeHg, iAs, Cd and carcinogenic PAHs, in seafood after steaming reveals that adverse health effects can never be excluded, regardless contaminants concentration. However, the risk of adverse effects can vary. The drastic changes induced by steaming suggest that the effect of cooking should be integrated in food risk assessment, as well as accounted in CeCs regulations and recommendations issued by food safety authorities, in order to avoid over/underestimation of risks for consumer health.

Determination of benzothiazoles in seafood species by subcritical water extraction followed by solid-phase microextraction-gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry: estimating the dietary intake.

Benzothiazoles are high production volume chemicals widely used in many industrial and household applications. However, information on their occurrence in aquatic organisms is very limited, although a high level of bioaccumulation is expected. In this study and for the first time, a method was developed involving subcritical water extraction followed by solid-phase microextraction coupled to gas chromatography-ion trap-tandem mass spectrometry for the determination of five benzothiazoles in seafood. The repeatability and reproducibility of the method were under 21% (%RSD, n = 5, 100 ng g-1 (dw)), while method detection limits and method quantification limits were between 0.5 and 10 ng g-1 (dw) and 1 and 50 ng g-1 (dw), respectively. Ten widely consumed fish and shellfish species from the county of Tarragona (Catalonia, Spain) were selected in order to estimate dietary exposure and to assess the human health risks. The most frequently determined compounds were benzothiazole and 2-(methylthio)-benzothiazole, with squid being the species which showed the highest level of benzothiazole (82 ng g-1 (dw)). In terms of human exposure, the current concentrations of benzothiazoles found in fish and shellfish could not be compared to threshold values because of the lack of toxicological data.