Evaluation of the concentration of heavy metals in fillets of pangasius hypophthalmus (Sauvage, 1878), Panga, imported from Vietnam

Studies in several countries have warned on the contamination of fish by heavy metals, especially Pangasius hypophthalmus, farmed in the Mekong river, Vietnam, one of the most polluted rivers in the world, and exported to all countries. Current paper quantifies the concentrations of heavy metals in samples of frozen panga fillets. Risk to human health associated to the consumption of fillets was calculated according to heavy metal levels. Two batches of panga from Vietnam were acquired, each batch was ground and homogenized, a single sample of fillets was prepared and analyses were performed from the sample. Panga samples in current analysis did not contain any detectable rates for contaminants Cd, Cr, Ni and Hg, with rates below detection limit. Al and Zn were detected in the two samples. Zn rates were below limits permitted by Brazilian legislation. Risk Index (RI) for consumption of panga fillets was below 1.0 for the studied metals, except Al. When fish consumption at 0.030 kg / day for sporadic consuming adults was used as a reference, the RI of Al varied between 2,557 (1st batch of steaks) and 3,928 (2nd batch of steaks). In the case of fish consumption at 0.142 kg / day by habitual consuming adults, such as fishermen and riverine people, RI ranged between 12,103 (1st batch of steaks) and 18,595 (2nd batch of steaks), with adverse effects on human health. Results reinforce the relevance of greater monitoring of imported fish and the risk of human exposure to heavy metals.