Abstract:

Seafood is one of people’s favorite foods. With the rapid development of industry, the industrial emission of the
toxic elements Hg, Pb and As has been a threat to the safety of seafood. In this paper, Hg, Pb and As contents in seafood
from Europe (Italy and Norway), the Middle East (Turkey and Iran) and some coastal areas of China collected during
2005–2015 are compared. The results show that: 1) Hg content in some seafood from the Middle East and China’s coastal
areas exceeds the maximum allowable limit; 2) Pb content in most seafood from the Middle East is much higher than in that
from coastal areas in China and Europe, and bivalves have higher levels of Pb content than fishes; 3) As content in most
seafood from European (Italy and Norway) coastal areas is significantly higher than in that from other coastal areas and
exceeded the maximum allowable limit; 4) Hg content in all investigated bivalves from coastal areas in northern China is
higher than in those from coastal areas in southeast China.

Key words: seafood, Hg, Pb, As