Health risks associated with the consumption of shrimp and squid contaminated with heavy metals in Poland

Seafood may accumulate heavy metals (HMs) from environmental sources, posing potential health risks through dietary intake. This study aimed to assess the health risk associated with dietary intake of Hg, Cd, As and Zn from selected seafood available in Poland. In this study, a total 51 samples of shrimp and squid were analysed. The metals content was determined using such analytical methods as ET-AAS with a graphite furnace in the case of Cd, ICP-OES in the case of As and Zn, and CV-AFS in the case of Hg. The mean content of Cd and Zn were found to be 0.25 and 16.94 mg/kg f. w., respectively. In the case of Hg and As, these metals were detected at concentrations of 0.023 and 11.71 mg/kg f. w. The number of samples exhibiting results higher than the LOQ for Cd, As, Zn and Hg were found to be 24, 1, 50 and 1, respectively. The heavy metals content generally did not exceed the maximum permissible concentrations. Elevated content of Cd were detected in a single shrimp sample. The HI exceeded 1 among adults and children, with arsenic in shrimp identified as the predominant contributor. The ingestion of As from highest contaminated shrimp sample has been associated an elevated cancer risk among adult (2.33 × 10-3) and children (5.44 × 10-3). The findings of this study indicate that, in order to ensure the health safety of consumers, it is necessary to undertake more effective monitoring of the HMs content in seafood available in the Polish market.