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The significant increase in the production and variety of nanoparticles (NPs) has led to their release into the environment, especially into the marine environment. Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO 2 -NPs) are used in different industrial sectors, from the food industry to several consumer and household products. Since the aquatic environment is highly sensitive to contamination by TiO 2 -NPs, this work aimed to give a preliminary assessment of the contamination of packaged seafood, where the food additive TiO 2 (E171) is not to be intentionally added. This allowed providing a chemical characterization and quantification of TiO 2 -NPs in processed canned fish products belonging to different trophic positions of the pelagic compartment and in canned clam. The new emerging technique called single-particle inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry ( sp ICP-MS) was applied, which allows the determination of nanoparticle number-based concentration, as well as the dissolved titanium. This study highlights how processed food, where the pigment E171 was not intentionally added, contains TiO 2 in its nanoparticle form, as well as dissolved titanium. Processed clam represented the seafood with the highest content of TiO 2 -NPs. In pelagic fish species, we found progressively higher levels and smaller sizes of TiO 2 -NPs from smaller to larger fish. Our results highlight the importance of planning the characterization and quantification of TiO 2 -NPs in food both processed and not, as well as where the pigment E171 is intentionally added and not, as it is not the only source of TiO 2 -NPs. This result represents a solid step toward being able to estimate the real level of dietary exposure to TiO 2 -NPs for the general population and the related health risks.

Arsenic in the environment pose major threats to human health, and especially the inorganic form can result in adverse health effects. This review analyse papers from 2004 to 2017 on As in fresh fish and molluscs caught in the Mediterranean sea and the European coast of the Atlantic ocean allowing the identification of the marine area with a greater As bioavailability and in particular the identification of the European populations more exposed to In-As by consuming fresh seafood. Results were separated on the base of the fishing site and the concentrations were reworked to assess the average daily intake to In-As as well as Target Hazard Quotient and Cancer Risk. Overall, the greater availability in Tot-As concentration in the pelagic compartment found in the Mediterranean Sea is not present along the European coasts of Atlantic Ocean. Furthermore, only in the Mediterranean Sea, results highlighted significant differences between Tot-As concentrations in seafood subgroups. In both areas, In-As concentrations showed the following trend: molluscs > pelagic > demersal with significant differences between subgroups. The European populations more exposed to In-As from fish and molluscs are the French, Spanish, Italian and Greek, with particular regards to children of 3-6 years old, which should minimize the consumption of molluscs to avoid carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Seafood represent an important food source for human, and seafood quality is associated with marine environment quality. PAHs are one of the main organic environmental contaminants and they can be introduced into the body through different way (ingestion, inhalation, dermal absorption). We present data on bioaccumulation of the sixteen PAHs, defined priority by the U.S.- EPA, in Sardina pilchardus, Solea solea and Donax trunculus, three species caught in the Catania Gulf and highly consumed by the local population. The risk to develop chronic systemic and carcinogenic effects due to the consumption of these target species was evaluated through the EDI, THQ and CR. EDI derived from D. trunculus ingestion falls within the range calculated by the EFSA. The THQ is less than 1, and the CR calculated for the Benzo(a)Pyrene is at the limit of the ARL (1✕10 -5 ). EDI derived from S. pilchardus and S. solea ingestion are below the range calculated by the EFSA. The THQ is less than 1, and the CR is below the acceptable risk level. The contamination level found in local seafood determines a low risk to develop chronic systemic effects, but the cancer risk could be of health concern especially for high-frequency molluscs consumers., (Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Fish and shellfish belonging to five different species among pelagic, benthonic and molluscs, were collected from the Gulf of Catania in 2017 to evaluate arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), lead (Pb), manganese (Mn), nickel (Ni), selenium (Se) vanadium (V) and zinc (Zn). Risk of developing chronic systemic effects derived from seafood consumption was evaluated with the Target Hazard Quotient (THQ) and compared with the results obtained from the same area and the species, collected in 2012. Hg, Cd and Pb concentrations were found below the limits set by European Community for human consumption in all the analysed species. The total risk is reduced from 1.1 to 0.49, and this result is strongly associated with the lower bioaccumulations levels found for Hg, Mn, Se and V. Others metals such as As, Pb, Ni and Zn bioaccumulation levels remain approximately the same, conversely, it is revealed a slight increase of Cd and Cr. Overall, the present study show a positive picture of the studied area, the Gulf of Catania, highlighting not only a decreased metal availability of the study area, but, above all, a decreased risk to develop chronic systemic effects derived from consumption of local seafood., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Canned tuna in olive oil and in brine of the most popular brands sold in Italian markets were analyzed to verify the authentication of transformed products, with the aim to unveil commercial frauds due to the substitutions of high value species with species of low commercial value, and to assess the health risk of consumers related to cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb) and mercury (Hg) contents. Species authentication was evaluated with amplification of COI DNA barcode and confirmed the declared species. Among tested metals, Hg had the highest concentrations, followed by Cd and Pb. None of the tested samples surpassed the European regulatory limits no. 1881/2006 fixed for Hg and Pb, whereas one batch of canned tuna in olive oil exceeded standard for Cd. Risk for human health was evaluated by the metals daily intake and target hazard quotient (THQ). As a result, Cd and Pb did not exceed the toxicological reference values established by World Health Organization (WHO) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Conversely, Hg content suggests a consumption no more than once a week and a continuous surveillance of this fishery products for consumer protection.

The subject of the present study is the evaluation of the concentrations of mercury (Hg) and selenium (Se) in fish and shellfish from the Gulf of Catania (Ionian Sea) and the assessment of related risk-based consumption limits per single contaminant in adults and children. In contrast to the potential harm from Hg, Se is an essential element that is normally found in high levels in seafood. If the amount of Hg is high enough, it could bind Se and irreversibly inhibit selenium-dependent enzymes. Thus, adequate levels of Se need to be available to replace the amount of Se lost to Hg sequestration, thereby maintaining normal selenoprotein synthesis. Hg analysis was conducted using a flow injection analysis system coupled with an atomic adsorption spectrometer, and Se analysis was conducted using an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Of the trace elements investigated, only Hg has a limit set by the European Community for human consumption, and this was never exceeded. Nevertheless, based on Target Hazard Quotient (THQ) over 1, and on the Estimated Daily Intake per meal (EDIm) higher than the Provisional Tolerable Intake (PTI) suggested by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additive (JECFA), Hg oral exposure derived from consumption of the benthonic fish and of the bigger pelagic fish species analyzed, could follow the occurrence of systemic effects. Se was found always in molar excess respect to Hg in all pelagic fish and in the shellfish, nearly equimolar in the benthonic fish. Determining the evidence that foods, such as pelagic fish, with high molar excess of Se, could contribute to replace the amount of Se bound to Hg and thereby maintaining normal selenoprotein synthesis, is useful for a better understanding of the seafood safety., (© 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Zinc is a well-known essential micronutrient, widely used as a food supplement, antimicrobial agent and food preservation. NOAEL was established at 50mg/person per day and an upper limit of 25mg/person per day was recommended. ZnONPs are GRAS substances approved by FDA. Nanotechnology is an emerging issue because of the industrial widespread use of ZnO nanoparticles and their potential toxicity and bioaccumulation. Aim of this study is to provide information regarding the quantification of ZnO-NPs, which may be intentionally or unintentionally added, in different brands of canned tuna (CT) and canned clam (CC), and to provide a first esteem of dietary exposure. Canned seafood was subjected to an alkaline digestion with TMAH. Assessment of ZnONPs was performed using a NexION 350D with the Syngistix Nano Application software (Perkin Elmer), allowing to identify number of particles, size and size distribution of metal NPs with the simultaneous quantification of the dissolved elemental concentration. Estimated Meal Intake was evaluated for adults by assuming a meal size of 227g, 70 years old and 70Kg of b.w. Results revealed a comparable mean size range between the considered food item (CT 69-80nm; CC 75-83nm). Concentration of ZnONPs are significantly higher in CC versus CT (CT 3.2-9.8 mg/Kg; CC 7.7-11.3 mg/Kg). The same we found for dissolved Zn concentration (CT 19.1-28.4mg/Kg; CC 27.4-39.2mg/Kg). For CT it was estimated an EMI of 0.018 mg/Kg bw for ZnONPs and 79.9 mg/Kg bw for dissolved Zn. For CC it was estimated an EMI of 0.031 mg/Kg bw for ZnONPs and 109 mg/Kg bw for dissolved Zn. Our findings revealed that ZnO-NPs have the potential to bioaccumulate in marine organisms, and seafood could be an important uptake route of ZnONPs. These results are a first important step to understand the ZnONPs human dietary exposure, but the characterization and quantification of ZnONPs is necessary for a large number of food items. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]