Bioaccessibility of essential and non-essential metals in commercial shellfish from Western Europe and Asia

Maximum acceptable concentrations of metals in food – based on total concentrations – have been established in many countries. To improve risk assessment, it would be better to take into account bioaccessible concentrations. A total of seven species of molluscs from France, UK and Hong Kong was examined in this study including clams, mussels, oysters, scallops and gastropods. The species which have total metal concentrations higher than the most severe food security limits are mainly oysters (all of the three studied species), the gastropod Buccinum undatum for cadmium and zinc, and scallops for cadmium. The lowest bioaccessibility (in % extractability with gut juices) was observed for silver (median for all of the species: 14%), it was moderate for lead (median: 33%) and higher for cadmium, zinc and copper (medians were respectively 54%, 65%, and 70%). In most cases, bioaccessible concentrations remained higher than the safety limits, except for cadmium in scallops and zinc in B. undatum. The influence of feeding habit (masticated or swallowed, addition of vinegar or lemon) on metal bioaccessibility in oysters is limited. On the contrary, cooking the gastropods decreased the bioaccessibility of metals, except silver.