Preliminary results of mercury levels in raw and cooked seafood and their public health impact.

Mercury is toxic for human health and one of the main routes of exposure is through consumption of contaminated fish and shellfish. The objective of this work was to assess the possible mercury contamination of bivalves (Anomalocardia brasiliana, Lucina pectinata, Callinectes sapidus), crustacean (C. sapidus) and fish (Bagre marinus and Diapterus rhombeus) collected on Salinas da Margarida, BA (Brazil), a region which carciniculture, fishing and shellfish extraction are the most important economic activities. The effect of cooking on Hg concentration in the samples was also studied. The results showed that Hg concentration was generally higher in the cooked samples than in raw samples. This increase can be related to the effect of Hg pre-concentration, formation of complexes involving mercury species and sulfhydryl groups present in tissues and/or loss of water and fat. The highest concentrations were found in B. marinus samples ranging 837.0-1585.3 μg kg(-1), which exceeded those recommended by Brazilian Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA). In addition, Hg values found in the other samples also suggest the monitoring of the Hg concentrations in seafood consumed from the region.