Metals in Mytillus galloprovincialis (Lamarck 1819) and Ensis directus (Conrad 1883): Risk Assessment

Abstract

ABSTRACT The study has been conducted with inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry to determine the content of toxic heavy metals, macroelements, and essential elements in two species of bivalves of commercial interest in the Canary Islands: the Mediterranean mussel (Mytillus galloprovincialis, Lamarck 1819) and the razor clam (Ensis directus, Conrad 1883). The study included 40 samples corresponding to 20 specimens of each species acquired from fishmongers on the island of Tenerife. E. directus had higher levels of metals, except for B, Cd, Na, and Zn (0.98, 0.02, 2,006.93, and 15.07 mg/kg, respectively) compared with those in M. galloprovincialis, B, Cd, Na, and Zn (2.67, 0.12, 2,267.7, and 22.27 mg/kg, respectively). In both bivalve molluscs, the maximum limits established by European legislation on food for human consumption were not exceeded. Likewise, the estimated daily intakes for the toxic metals Pb and Cd were below the admissible daily intakes.