Some Metals Found in Stored Canned Fish Products Sold in Nigeria

Abstract

Trace amount of some metals like zinc, iron, manganese is normally constituent of natural water bodies, canned products and fishes. Excessive levels of metals can become detrimental to consumers of fish and fish products especially those stored for prolonged period at varied temperatures. Toxicological and environmental concerns have therefore prompted interest into the investigation of some of these metals especially in canned fish stored in different media, sold in Nigeria. In order to curb preventable damage to consumers’ vital organs as a result of unsuspecting elevated levels in consumed fish and fish products, this study will determine the presence of some metals in different storage media and compare their values with safe set-standard levels. Monthly mean concentration of metals was determined using Inductive Coupled Plasma-optical emission spectrometer (ICP-OES), and values compared with permissible set-values by different moderating organizations like the Codex, World Health Organization (WHO) among others when considering metal contamination. Based on all the different storage media, an average concentration of 2.88–29.45 mg/kg Fe, 7.04–72.09 mg/kg Zn, 0.09–0.67 mg/kg Mn, 0.55–5.61 mg/kg Ni, 0.02–0.27 mg/kg V were detected during the period of study. This study is therefore intended to encourage comprehensive periodic monitoring of canned products in Nigeria market.