Assessment of Mercury intake through fish consumption among different population groups in Serbia

Saša Janković; Nikola Borjan; Milenko Babić; Ognjen Krnjaja; Damjan Gavrilović; Jasna Đinović-Stojanović; Ivana Branković Lazić

doi:10.18485/meattech.2025.66.3.97

Saša Janković Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology, Belgrade, Serbia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5223-6993
Nikola Borjan Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology, Belgrade, Serbia https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4067-3755
Milenko Babić Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology, Belgrade, Serbia https://orcid.org/0009-0006-6467-6757
Ognjen Krnjaja Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology, Belgrade, Serbia https://orcid.org/0009-0005-2242-0457
Damjan Gavrilović Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology, Belgrade, Serbia https://orcid.org/0009-0000-3786-496X
Jasna Đinović-Stojanović Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology, Belgrade, Serbia https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4602-0835
Ivana Branković Lazić Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology, Belgrade, Serbia https://orcid.org/0009-0005-5844-9278

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18485/meattech.2025.66.3.97

Keywords: mercury, fish, diet, toxicity

Abstract

Fish are the major sources of healthful long-chain omega-3 fats and are also rich in other nutrients. On the other hand, fish contain many harmful substances which can be transferred through the food chain with undesirable effects on human health. Mercury is one of the toxic elements that does not have an essential biological function but can cause harmful effects on the nervous system, primarily in children. Having in mind the toxicity of mercury and the fact that fish is the main source of mercury in human diets, the aim of this study was to assess mercury intake by fish consumption in different Serbian population groups. In the period 2023-2024, 723 samples of different fish types were analysed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP MS). The highest concentration of mercury was found in tuna – maximum 0.969 mg kg^-1, mean 0.274 mg kg^-1. The fish with the lowest mercury content was trout, with a mean of 0.009 mg kg^-1. The obtained results were used to calculate the weekly intake of mercury/methylmercury in three population groups in Serbia – toddlers, adults and pregnant women. The intake of methylmercury in the adult population and in pregnant women was almost the same – 0.067 and 0.065 µg kg^-1 body weight per week, respectively, while it was twice as high in toddlers. Generally, mercury intake through fish consumption in Serbia is very low, so far from tolerable weekly intakes, and this gives an opportunity to increase the share of fish in the Serbian diet in order to achieve positive effects from fish consumption.