Heavy metal contents in salted fish retailed in Egypt: Dietary intakes and health risk assessment.

Background: In Egypt, salted fish is considered a typically processed fish, including salted sardine, salted mullet (feseikh), keeled mullet (sahlia), and herrings. High-quality protein, polyunsaturated fatty acids, vital amino acids, and trace minerals such as magnesium and calcium are all abundant in fish. However, eating salted fish can expose people to toxins found in the environment, such as heavy metals. Aim: In Zagazig, Egypt, four types of locally produced salted fish-salted sardine, feseikh, sahlia, and herrings-were tested for heavy metals, specifically lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), arsenic (As), and mercury (Hg). Second, the assessed heavy metals linked to the Egyptian population's consumption of salted fish were used to calculate estimated daily intakes (EDIs) and potential health hazards, such as hazard quotient (HQ) and hazard index (HI). Methods: Samples of salted herrings, feseikh, sahlia, and sardines were gathered from the markets in Zagazig. Samples of salted fish were subjected to acid digestion and then heavy metal extraction. Atomic absorption spectrometers (AAS) were used to measure heavy metals. HI, HQ, and EDI were computed computationally. Results: With the exception of mercury, which was not found in the salted herrings, the recorded results showed that all of the tested metals were present in the samples that were evaluated. The herrings contained residual Pb and Cd contents that were highest, followed by sardine, feseikh, and sahlia, in that order. After sardine, herrings, and sahlia, feseikh has the greatest concentration. Sardine, feseikh, and sahlia had the highest quantities of mercury, in that order. A number of samples were found to be above the maximum allowable levels. There were no apparent hazards associated with consuming such conventional fish products, according to the computed HQ and HI values for the heavy metals under investigation based on the daily intakes. Conclusion: Samples of salted fish sold in Zagazig, Egypt, had high quantities of the hazardous elements Pb, Cd, As, and Hg. Due to the bioaccumulation and biomagnification characteristics of these studied metals, such data should be taken carefully even though the computed health hazards revealed no potential problems.

Health risk assessment of organochlorine pesticide residues in edible tissue of seafood.

Fish is one of the most valuable foods with high-quality animal protein. However, aquaculture, or ingesting contaminated food, allows organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) to enter the fish's body, and therefore, it negatively impacted public health. One-hundred and twenty random samples of Clupea harengus (C. harengus), Mugil cephalus (M. cephalus), Sardinella aurita (S. aurita), Oreochromis niloticus (O. niloticus), Neptunus pelagicus (N. pelagicus) and Sepia savigngi (S. savigngi) (n = 20 each) were collected from local markets in Mansoura city, Egypt. Samples were checked to see whether any residues of OCPs with the application of risk assessment due to their consumption by Mansoura citizens. The findings indicated that summation hexachlorocyclohexane (∑HCH) in examined seafood samples ranged from 0.27 ± 0.13 in N. pelagicus to 61.61 ± 52.03 µg.kg-1 in S. aurita. Also, the γ-HCH isomer was considered the more prominent among isomers. Hexachlorobenzene (HCB) was found in five different species, with mean values of 2.03 ± 1.85, 1.5.7 ± 1.17, 0.94 ± 0.87, 0.35 ± 0.06, and 0.18 ± 0.06 µg.kg-1 in C. harengus, S. aurita, M. cephlaus, O. niloticus, and S. savigngi. Moreover, summation of Heptachlors (∑HPTs) was 10.19 ± 7.63, 1.27 ± 0.26, 2.58 ± 0.11, 0.95 ± 0.12, 0.21 ± 0.11 and 0.32 ± 0.03 µg.kg-1 of wet weight in examined C. harengus, M. cephlaus, S. aurita, O. niloticus, N. pelagicus, and S. savigngi. Aldrin and dieldrin residues were 3.75 ± 1.31 and 4.86 ± 1.33 µg.kg-1 in C. harengu, meanwhile they were 1.61 ± 0.77 and 0.78 ± 0.04 µg.kg-1in M. cephalus. Dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (pp-DDE) was dominant in all examined species within different concentrations 5.08 ± 4.12, 0.98 ± 0.10, 3.07 ± 0.91, 0.93 ± 0.27, 0.08 ± 0.01 and 0.35 ± 0.02 µg.kg-1 in C. harengus, M. cephlaus, S. aurita, O. niloticus, N. pelagicus and S. savigngi, respectively. We concluded that all examined seafood samples were lower than the recommended maximum residue limit. Also, the estimated daily intake was less than the permitted daily intake. Non-carcinogenic indices of target hazard quotient and hazard index for OCPs in all examined species were less than 1.