Cadmium, lead, copper and mercury levels in fresh and canned bivalve mussels Tagelus dombeii (Navajuela) and Semelle sólida (Almeja) from the Chilean coast.

Samples of bivalve mussels Tagelus dombeii and Semelle sólida (Navajuelas and Almejas chilenas, respectively) caught at different sites along the coast of Chile were analysed for Cu, Cd, Hg and Pb content. The analyses were performed on samples of fresh and canned products, classified according to their length. Each Navajuela sample was divided into two subsamples. One was dissected and the visceral tissue, branchial tissue and gonads were removed, while the other sample consisted of the whole tissues. The heavy metal concentration of fresh mussel samples was compared with the same samples as canned products. The data show that for both species there are no significant differences in the metal concentration with the mollusc size in fresh samples and canned products. It has been shown that there is no contribution to the trace metal content (Cd, Pb and Hg) in canned Navajuelas and Almejas mussels as a consequence of the industrial process. A clear and significant reduction in the Cd and Cu content was observed in Navajuelas without visceral tissue and Almejas without mantle tissue for both the fresh and canned products. This is consistent and is corroborated with the high metal concentrations found in the visceral and mantle tissue.