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An inorganic arsenic content of 5.8 mg per kilo of wet weight is among the highest that has been observed in marine animals.Ī high level of total arsenic involves an increased level of inorganic arsenic
The corresponding concentration of arsenic in mussels from the Hardanger Fjord varied from 0.001 to 5.8 mg per kilo. In the Sogne Fjord the concentration of inorganic arsenic in blue mussels varied between 0.002 to 3.9 mg per kilo of blue mussel, depending on location. This is a very unlikely scenario, says Julshamn. If you weigh 70 kilos and eat 200 grams of blue mussels with the highest content of inorganic arsenic every week of your life, your provisional Tolerable Weekly Intake (PTWI) will be exceeded by 10 per cent. Not of significance with respect to food safetyĪlthough the concentrations of inorganic arsenic was high in the Sogne Fjord and the Hardanger Fjord, the findings represent no threat to food safety. The study is conducted in connection to the Norwegian Food Safety Authority Surveillance programme on mussels, and analyses of inorganic arsenic in blue mussels will continue with the same frequency as previously. This makes it difficult to identify the factors that cause the high level of inorganic arsenic, but it is possible that the levels are connected to algal blooms, says Julsham
Also, one location which has shown a high level of inorganic arsenic one year has not necessarily shown a high content of inorganic arsenic the next year.
Since 1999 the National Institute of Nutrition and Seafood Research (NIFES) has annually (spring and autumn) analysed blue mussels from around 50 locations along the Norwegian coast in order to monitor the level of metals and other chemical components. Monitoring of inorganic arsenic in seafood is important in order to make a correct risk assessment. Blue mussels can accumulate trace elements from the surroundings. Seafood is the most common source of arsenic in our diet, and mostly it is in the form of arsenobetaine, which is essentially non-toxic. Organic arsenic is not considered to be a health risk, but inorganic arsenic is very poisonous. It may be present in different organic chemical compounds (such as arsenobetaine) and in different inorganic chemical compounds (such as arsenite). Total arsenic consists of organic and inorganic arsenic, both of which are present in seafood in about 20 different chemical forms.