Abstract

PANICHEV, Nikolai A.  and  PANICHEVA, Svetlana E.. Concentration of Total Mercury in Convenience Fish Products and Cooked Fish. S.Afr.j.chem. (Online) [online]. 2019, vol.72, pp.150-153. ISSN 1996-840X.  http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/0379-4350/2019/v72a19.

Convenience fish products are very popular culinary items among South African customers because they do not require any preliminary preparation before cooking. To the best of our knowledge, convenience fish products had never been a subject of analysis for mercury (Hg) content in South Africa. A Zeeman Mercury Analyzer was used for direct determination of Hg in these products after thermal decomposition of samples followed by atomic absorption detection. The Hg concentrations in convenience fish products, namely 'Hake crumbed AA portions' and 'Hake AA portions' was found to be at a very low level (8.2 ± 1.1 ng g^-1), and in the other convenience fish products 'Fish bites' and 'Battered mince portions' it was in the range of 48-64 ng g^-1. In 'ready to eat' deep-fried fish, the concentrations of Hg varied in a much wider range (from 55 to 306 ng g^-1). To estimate the health risk associated with Hg in these products, the safe amount of cooked in-store fish and convenience fish products have been calculated.

Keywords : Convenience fish products; cooked fish; total mercury; mercury analyzer.

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