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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. info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion

Food safety assessment and communication have a strong importance in reducing human health risks related to food consumption. The research carried out within the ECsafeSEAFOOD project aims to assess seafood safety issues, mainly related to non-regulated priority environmental contaminants, and to evaluate their impact on public health. In order to make the research results accessible and exploitable, and to respond to actual stakeholders' demands, a consultation with international stakeholders was performed by means of a survey. The focus was on policy and decision makers, food producers and processors, and agencies (i.e. EU and National or Regional agencies related to Food Safety or Public Health) and consumer organisations. The survey considered questions related to: seafood safety assessment and mitigation strategies, availability of data, such as the level of information on different contaminants, and communication among different stakeholder groups. Furthermore, stakeholders were asked to give their opinion on how they believe consumers perceive risks associated with environmental contaminants. The survey was distributed to 531 key stakeholders and 91 responses were received from stakeholders from 30 EU and non-EU countries. The main results show that communication between different groups of stakeholders needs to be improved and that there is a deficit of information and data in the field of seafood safety. This pertains mainly to the transfer of contaminants between the environment and seafood, and to the diversity of environmental contaminants such as plastic additives, algal toxins and hormones. On-line tools were perceived to be the most useful communication channel.

Given the potential of Perceived Consumer Effectiveness (PCE) in shaping pro-environmental behavior, the relationships between PCE, awareness of causes of contaminants in the marine environment, and concern about marine environmental contamination were investigated using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). PCE is the belief that an individual has in being able to make a difference when acting alone. A web-based survey was performed in one western European country (Belgium), one northern European country (Ireland) and three southern European countries (Italy, Portugal and Spain), resulting in a total sample size of 2824 participants. The analyses confirm that European citizens are concerned about marine environmental problems. Participants from the southern countries reported the highest concern. In addition, the study participants did not have a strong belief in themselves in being capable of making a difference in tackling marine environmental problems. However, a higher awareness, which was associated with a higher degree of concern, enhanced the belief that an individual can make a difference in tackling marine environmental problems, though only when a concrete action was proposed. Consequently, information campaigns focusing on pro-environmental behavior are recommended to raise public awareness about marine environmental problems and at the same time explicitly refer to concrete possible actions. The findings indicate that when only awareness and concern are raised without mentioning a concrete action, PCE might even decrease and render the communication effort ineffective.

MERLIN-Expo is a library of models that was developed in the frame of the FP7 EU project 4FUN in order to provide an integrated assessment tool for state-of-the-art exposure assessment for environment, biota and humans, allowing the detection of scientific uncertainties at each step of the exposure process. This paper describes the main features of the MERLIN-Expo tool. The main challenges in exposure modelling that MERLIN-Expo has tackled are: (i) the integration of multimedia (MM) models simulating the fate of chemicals in environmental media, and of physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) models simulating the fate of chemicals in human body. MERLIN-Expo thus allows the determination of internal effective chemical concentrations; (ii) the incorporation of a set of functionalities for uncertainty/sensitivity analysis, from screening to variance-based approaches. The availability of such tools for uncertainty and sensitivity analysis aimed to facilitate the incorporation of such issues in future decision making; (iii) the integration of human and wildlife biota targets with common fate modelling in the environment. MERLIN-Expo is composed of a library of fate models dedicated to non biological receptor media (surface waters, soils, outdoor air), biological media of concern for humans (several cultivated crops, mammals, milk, fish), as well as wildlife biota (primary producers in rivers, invertebrates, fish) and humans. These models can be linked together to create flexible scenarios relevant for both human and wildlife biota exposure. Standardized documentation for each model and training material were prepared to support an accurate use of the tool by end-users. One of the objectives of the 4FUN project was also to increase the confidence in the applicability of the MERLIN-Expo tool through targeted realistic case studies. In particular, we aimed at demonstrating the feasibility of building complex realistic exposure scenarios and the accuracy of the modelling predictions through a comparison with actual measurements.

The presence of cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), mercury (THg), methylmercury (MeHg), arsenic (TAs), inorganic arsenic (iAs), cobalt (Co), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), nickel (Ni), chromium (Cr) and iron (Fe) was investigated in seafood collected from European marine ecosystems subjected to strong anthropogenic pressure, i.e. hotspot areas. Different species (Mytilus galloprovincialis, n=50; Chamelea gallina, n=50; Liza aurata, n=25; Platichthys flesus, n=25; Laminaria digitata, n=15; and Saccharina latissima, n=15) sampled in Tagus estuary, Po delta, Ebro delta, western Scheldt, and in the vicinities of a fish farm area (Solund, Norway), between September and December 2013, were selected to assess metal contamination and potential risks to seafood consumers, as well as to determine the suitability of ecologically distinct organisms as bioindicators in environmental monitoring studies. Species exhibited different elemental profiles, likely as a result of their ecological strategies, metabolism and levels in the environment (i.e. seawater and sediments). Higher levels of Cd (0.15-0.94 mg kg(-1)), Pb (0.37-0.89 mg kg(-1)), Co (0.48-1.1 mg kg(-1)), Cu (4.8-8.4 mg kg(-1)), Zn (75-153 mg kg(-1)), Cr (1.0-4.5 mg kg(-1)) and Fe (283-930 mg kg(-1)) were detected in bivalve species, particularly in M. galloprovincialis from Ebro and Po deltas, whereas the highest content of Hg was found in P. flesus (0.86 mg kg(-1)). In fish species, most Hg was organic (MeHg; from 69 to 79%), whereas lower proportions of MeHg were encountered in bivalve species (between 20 and 43%). The highest levels of As were found in macroalgae species L. digitata and S. latissima (41 mg kg(-1) and 43 mg kg(-1), respectively), with iAs accounting almost 50% of the total As content in L. digitata but not with S. latissima nor in the remaining seafood samples. This work highlights that the selection of the most appropriate bioindicator species is a fundamental step in environmental monitoring of each contaminant, especially in coastal areas. Furthermore, data clearly shows that the current risk assessment and legislation solely based on total As or Hg data is limiting, as elemental speciation greatly varies according to seafood species, thus playing a key role in human exposure assessment via food.

The ocurrence and levels of PhACs, Endocrine Disrupting and related Compounds (EDCs) in seafood from potential contaminated areas in Europe has been studied. Macroalgae (S. accharina latissima and Laminaria digitata), bivalves (Mytilus galloprovincialis, Mytilus spp., Chamalea gallina and Crassostrea gigas) and fish (Liza aurata and Platichthys flesus) from Portugal, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, and Norway were analysed following 4 different analytical protocols depending on the organism and target group of contaminants. The results revealed the presence of 4 pharmaceutical compounds in macroalgae samples, 16 in bivalves and 10 in fish. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that PhACs have been detected in marine fish and in macroalgae. Besides, this is also the first time that dimetridazole, hydrochlorothiazide and tamsulosin have been detected in biota samples. The highest levels of PhACs corresponded to the psychiatric drug velanfaxine (up to 36.1 ng/g dry weight (dw)) and the antibiotic azithromycin (up to 13.3 ng/g dw) in bivalves from the Po delta (Italy). EDCs were not detected in macroalgae samples, however, the analysis revealed the presence of 10 EDCs in bivalves and 8 in fish. The highest levels corresponded to the organophosphorus flame retardant tris(2-butoxyethyl)phosphate (TBEP) reaching up to 98.4 ng/g dw in mullet fish from the Tagus estuary. Bivalves, in particular mussels, have shown to be good bioindicator organisms for PhACs and fish for EDCs. Taking into consideration the concentrations and frequencies of detection of PhACs and EDCs in the seafood samples analysed, a list of candidates' compounds for priorization in future studies has been proposed The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under the EC safe SEAFOOD project (Grant agreement no.311820). The scientific facilities of ICRA have been cofinanced by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) and by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) in the frame of theCatalonia ERDF Operative programm 2007–2013. This work was partly supported by the Generalitat de Catalunya (Consolidated Research Group: Catalan Institute for water Research 2014 SGR 291)