Evaluation of mercury, cadmium and lead levels in fish and fishery products imported by air in North Italy from extra-European Union Countries

•We analyzed Hg, Cd, Pb in 251 fishery products from extra-European Union Countries.•Except for two samples, all values were below the limits of European legislation.•Mercury was higher in tunafish and swordfish, while cadmium was higher in mollusk.

The levels of cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg) and lead (Pb) were evaluated in 251 samples of fish and fishery products randomly collected between January 2010 and December 2013 from products imported through the airport of Milan Malpensa from extra-European Union (extra-EU) Countries and inspected at the Border Inspection Post by official public veterinarians. In this study, products were classified in four categories: predatory fish (larger predatory fishes like tunafish and swordfish, and spiny dogfish), non-predatory fish (other species of fishes of lower dimensions and different feeding behavior, mollusc (cephalopods and bivalves) and crustacean). Analyses were performed by accredited laboratory. All the concentrations were below the levels expressed in Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006 except for two samples of swordfish that exceeded in Hg content. Predatory fish had a significantly higher content of Hg (median value 375 μg kg−1) while mollusc had a significantly higher content of Cd (median value 66.5 μg kg−1) compared to the other groups of seafood included in this study. No relationship was found between the individual concentration of metals.