Mercury and methylmercury intake estimation due to seafood products for the Catalonian population (Spain)

Abstract

This study estimates mercury and methylmercury levels in fish and fishery products commercialized in the city of Barcelona, Spain, from 2001 to 2007. Combining data of mercury levels in food with the consumption data of 2158 people (as the median of two 24-h recall), the total mercury intake of the Catalonian population was calculated. Mercury was detected in 32.8% of analysed samples. The general population average weekly intake of total mercury in the Catalonian population was 0.783 μg kg-1 of body weight. This value is clearly lower than the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) provisional tolerable weekly intakes (PTWI) of 5 μg kg-1 of body weight. The fish group was the main contributor to this value, mainly due to predatory species.