Abstract The aim of this research was to determine total mercury (Hg) content in 69 canned tuna of 13 brands marketed in southwest Brazil. All values are reported in μg.g−1 wet weight basis. Potential health risk was estimated on the basis of mercury concentration and average consumption (175 g/per week) of fish in Brazil comparing to PTWI of 1.6 μg.kg−1 ( FAO/WHO, 2010 ). A large variation in the concentration of mercury in different species was observed. Mean mercury concentration was 0.256 ± 0.215 μg.g−1 with a highest value of 1.060 μg.g−1 in a single can. In general average concentration was below the legislation of 1.0 μg.g−1 for predatory species ( BRASIL, 2010 ). Estimate weekly intake (EWI) varied 0.2–1.7 μg.kg−1. For the analyzed brands and Brazilian fish consumption, no human health risk is likely to occur. However one brand was higher than PTWI of 1.6 μg.kg−1 showing no safety for specific risk group. Further studies including specific data on canned tuna consumption in specific populations will be needed as well as the fish type, fish size and fishing location.

中文翻译：

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巴西南部销售的金枪鱼罐头中总汞的浓度和健康风险评估

摘要 本研究的目的是确定在巴西西南部销售的 13 个品牌的 69 个罐装金枪鱼的总汞 (Hg) 含量。所有值均以 μg.g-1 湿重为基础报告。潜在的健康风险是根据巴西鱼类的汞浓度和平均消费量（175 克/每周）与 1.6 μg.kg−1 的 PTWI 相比估算的（FAO/WHO，2010 年）。观察到不同物种的汞浓度存在很大差异。单个罐中的平均汞浓度为 0.256 ± 0.215 μg.g-1，最高值为 1.060 μg.g-1。一般而言，捕食性物种的平均浓度低于立法规定的 1.0 μg.g-1（巴西，2010 年）。估计每周摄入量 (EWI) 变化 0.2–1.7 μg.kg-1。对于所分析的品牌和巴西的鱼类消费量，可能不会发生人类健康风险。然而，一个品牌的 PTWI 高于 1.6 μg.kg−1，表明对特定风险组不安全。需要进一步研究，包括特定人群中罐装金枪鱼消费的具体数据以及鱼类类型、鱼类大小和捕捞地点。