Assessment of Four Heavy Metals Mercury, Lead, Copper and Cadmium Levels in Muscles of Imported Tilapia to Iran

This study was conducted to determine the residues of mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), copper (Cu) and cadmium (Cd) in the imported tilapia fillets. Thirty random samples from import-ed tilapia fillets were collected from different markets in Isfahan City, central Iran. They were analyzed using Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrometer (Perkin Elmer 800) for Pb, Cu, Cd and flow injection mercury system (Perkin Elmer 400) for Hg. Out of the 30 tested samples, concentration of Hg, Pb, Cu and Cd in the tilapia fillets samples as mean± standard deviation were 0.083±.016, 0.638±0.067, 0.521± 0.081 and 0.136 ± 0.025 mg/kg, respectively. Among these, amounts obtained for all metals except for lead were lower than the permissible level specified by WHO (P<1%). The Pb concentrations in all examined samples were higher than WHO standards. The continuous consumption of these contaminated fish regularly for long time may lead to health troubles.