Food safety of commercial hydrobionts of the Sea of Japan

BACKGROUND: Bivalve mollusks are an important species for commercial harvesting. However, in addition to beneficial nutrients, they may contain hazardous compounds. Persistent organic pollutants are considered one of the most dangerous classes of organic compounds in terms of their impact on the environment and human health. AIM: This work aimed to assess the food safety of bivalve mollusks of the family Mytilidae from the Sea of Japan based on the content of persistent organic pollutants. METHODS: The biological material consisted of soft tissues of four species of bivalve mollusks collected in different areas of Peter the Great Bay in 2017–2022: Crenomytilus grayanus (Dunker, 1853), Modiolus kurilensis (F.R. Bernard, 1983), Mytilus trossulus (A. Gould, 1850), and Mytilus galloprovincialis (Lamarck, 1819). The mass concentrations of organochlorine compounds in the biological material were determined using a Shimadzu GC-2010 Plus gas chromatograph equipped with an ECD. RESULTS: Organic toxicants were detected in all studied samples at levels in the range of 0.00012–141.319 ng/g wet weight. The highest concentrations were found in the samples collected from Amur Bay. The levels of persistent organic pollutants detected in mollusks were substantially lower than the maximum permissible limits established by the Russian regulations, with median values ranging from 0.0002% to 2% of the maximum permissible concentration. Thus, the content of persistent organic pollutants in bivalve mollusks of the family Mytilidae does not pose a threat to human health. CONCLUSION: According to the obtained data, the content of persistent organic pollutants in the soft tissues of bivalve mollusks of the family Mytilidae does not exceed the current regulatory standards of the Russian Federation. These hydrobionts may be used for human consumption. Nevertheless, given the detection of prohibited compounds in the studied samples, systematic monitoring of the accumulation of persistent organic pollutants in the soft tissues of commercially harvested species from the coastal waters of the Sea of Japan should be continued

Blubber · Mussel · Mytilidae · Mytilus · Perna viridis · Pollutant · Environmental Chemistry and Analysis · Environmental Toxicology and Ecotoxicology · Food Industry and Aquatic Biology