Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in seafoods: a systematic review, meta-analysis, and health risk assessment

Since seafood is a globally consumed food, the presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and their potential threat to human health should be given attention. The study aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the concentration of PAHs in seafood around the world and their health risks through a systematic review and meta-analysis. Various databases such as ScienceDirect, PubMed, and Web of Science were searched from January 1, 2013 to October 30, 2023. After rigorous screening, 18 high-quality studies were finally included for the review. The reliability of included studies was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) checklist. Sensitivity and subgroup analyses were conducted to evaluate the robustness of the synthesized results and to explore potential sources of heterogeneity. Diagnostic ratio analysis was performed to explore the sources of PAHs. The meta-analysis revealed a mean total PAHs concentration of 71.024 ng/g (95% CI 59.255, 82.792 ng/g) across all seafood samples. The mean concentration of benzo[a]pyrene was 3.110 ng/g (95% CI 1.995, 4.227 ng/g), which was below the 5.0 μg/kg limit set by the Chinese standard GB 2762-2025 for smoked and grilled aquatic products, but exceeded the EU limit of 2.0 μg/kg for fish and fishery products. There were significant differences in PAHs concentrations among different types of seafood and study regions. The combustion of solid organic materials, such as biomass and coal, was the major source of PAHs in the studied samples. The total carcinogenic or mutagenic risk in Italy (3.20 × 10^-4 and 2.71 × 10^-4), China (5.11 × 10^-4 and 5.12 × 10^-4), and Nigeria (9.86 × 10^-4 and 1.18 × 10^-3) exceeded the safety threshold of 1 × 10^-4, suggesting that these regions need to strengthen the monitoring and regulation of PAHs contamination in seafood products and their aquatic environments. Future research should expand the monitoring of the species diversity and geographical coverage of seafood to achieve a more accurate and comprehensive risk assessment.