Exposure assessment in the Serbian population and occurrence of histamine and heavy metals in fish and seafood

Abstract

The aim of this study was to conduct a quantitative exposure assessment of fish-borne histamine, cadmium, mercury and arsenic in the Serbian adult population. The consumption survey of fish/fishery products was administered to 1 000 respondents during 2018. Determination of histamine content was performed on 974 fish; cadmium on 1 909, mercury on 1 911 and arsenic on 1 891 fish and seafood samples during five years (2014–2018). Monte Carlo analysis was used to estimate the intake of histamine/heavy metals from consumption of fish. The mean estimated daily intakes (EDIs) of fish-borne histamine, cadmium, mercury and arsenic by the Serbian adult population were 0.0274 mg kg−1 bw/day, 0.0347 μg kg−1 bw/day, 0.2426 μg kg−1 bw/day and 0.5576 μg kg−1 bw/day, respectively. Due to consumption of fish/seafood, 0.04% of the Serbian population are exposed to histamine, 0.05% to cadmium, 15.42% to mercury and 1.24% to arsenic levels over their respective thresholds.