High contents of cadmium, lead, zinc and copper in popular fishery products sold in Turkish supermarkets

Selected toxic (cadmium, lead) and essential (zinc and copper) trace metals were determined by means of differential pulse stripping anodic voltammetry (DPSAV) in some different brands and kinds of fishery products purchased from the popular supermarkets of Turkey. Among the fishery products, the highest concentration of cadmium, lead, zinc and copper were found in the frozen anchovy (494.2 μg/kg, 314.2 μg/kg, 566 mg/kg, 45.7 mg/kg, respectively). While the canned anchovy fillet had the lowest cadmium (25.1 μg/kg), zinc (33.8 mg/kg) and copper (7.1 mg/kg) concentrations, canned tuna fish (Brand A) had the lowest lead (76.1 μg/kg). The concentrations of all toxic and essential elements in the selected products were high and often exceeded legal limits set by health authorities. Therefore these products must be monitored more often.