Abstract:

The contents of heavy metals including lead, cadmium, mercury and inorganic arsenic in Ruditapes philippinarum
collected from terminal markets and supermarkets in Zhoushan were analyzed by atomic absorption spectrophotometer and
atomic fluorescent spectrophotometer. The food safety and pollution level of Ruditapes philippinarum were also investigated.
The results indicated that the contents of lead, cadmium and mercury in the edible parts of Ruditapes philippinarum were
consistent with the national food hygiene standards. The contents of inorganic arsenic in some samples (accounting for 6%–
10% of the total number of tested samples) were significantly higher than the maximum contamination level. The general
composite pollution index of inorganic arsenic for Ruditapes philippinarum was 0.71, which represented a medium pollution
level. The contents of lead, cadmium, mercury and inorganic arsenic accounted for below 10% of the provisional tolerable
weekly intake (PTWI), which could be identified as a low risk for consuming Ruditapes philippinarum in the terminal
markets and supermarkets from Zhoushan.

Key words: Ruditapes philippinarum, lead, cadmium, mercury, inorganic arsenic, safety evaluation