Analysis of Mercury Content in Canned Tuna Fish Commercially Available in the Philippines

Objective: To analyze the total concentration (in mg/kg) of Mercury in Canned Tuna Fish commercially available in the Philippines, using Cold Vapor Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (CVAAS) and to compare the results gathered with permissible FAO/WHO levels. Background: The levels of the toxic heavy metal, mercury have not been previously determined in canned Tuna commercially available in the Philippines. Methods: Six different brands of canned tuna, commercially and widely available in the Philippines were selected. The samples were primed, then analyzed using Cold Vapor Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry. The values obtained were then compared the tolerable weekly limit of Mercury as set by WHO. Results: Of the six canned tuna, all were tested positive for mercury. The mercury content expressed in mg/kg body weight were 0.10, 0.04, 0.06, 0.02, 0.02, and 0.02, for samples A, B, C, D, E and F respectively. The Provisional Tolerable Weekly intake of total mercury is 0.004 mg/kg, as set by the Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives [1]. The recovered mercury from all the canned tunas tested were well above the Provisional Tolerable Weekly Intake of total Mercury [1]. Conclusion: All of the 6 cans of tuna samples tested were positive for mercury well above the permissible FAO/WHO levels for mercury. Therefore, the analysis of the canned tuna is considered significant and the canned tuna fish seem to be unsafe for human consumption