The Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV) has detected the presence of various high-production-volume chemical substances in ready-to-eat meals made with fish and seafood, although the toxicological evaluation concludes that the levels found "do not pose a significant risk to health".
The work, published in the journal "Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry", analyzed 18 commercial references sold in Tarragona, including pre-cooked products, fresh ready-to-cook, refrigerated, and frozen, prepared with some of the most common species in the Catalan diet, such as squid, salmon, mussels, shrimp, sardines, hake, and cod.
In these samples, the scientific team tracked 29 compounds belonging to different chemical families, including phthalates, organophosphates, benzothiazoles, and synthetic fragrances, and confirmed the presence of most of them in at least one of the evaluated samples.
The researchers recall that some of these substances can reach the aquatic environment and accumulate in marine organisms, but they can also be transferred to food from packaging materials, especially during storage, cooking, or reheating.
According to the results, phthalates were the most frequent contaminants in most of the dishes, with a particular incidence in two hake-based products, while a relatively higher concentration of organophosphates was observed in mussels.
The authors emphasize that the detected amounts are below the values considered worrying, both for compounds evaluated as non-carcinogenic and for those classified with carcinogenic potential. Even in the most conservative scenario, the highest non-carcinogenic risk value was recorded in a dish of steamed hake with rice and shrimp in sauce, but it remained clearly below the reference threshold.
Impact of processing and industrial packaging
The study indicates that the contamination levels measured in these ready-to-eat meals are, in general terms, somewhat higher than those described in previous research on raw fish and seafood from the same geographical area.
Those responsible for the work explain that this result suggests that additional factors such as "industrial processing and packaging can contribute to increasing the presence of these contaminants in food".
However, they specify that the data obtained do not allow the contamination to be associated with a single specific source. In their opinion, multiple elements may be involved, such as the origin of the product, the species used, the fat content, the type of cooking, the preservation method, and the characteristics of the packaging materials.
The research also evaluated whether the lipid content of the species influenced the presence of the analyzed compounds. The results show that organophosphates, synthetic musks, and benzenesulfonamides appeared in higher concentrations in species with a higher proportion of fat, a pattern consistent with their tendency to accumulate in fatty tissues.
In contrast, phthalates were detected more frequently in lean species, especially in dishes made with hake, which reinforces the hypothesis of the contribution of external sources, such as contact with plastic materials or certain processing and preservation stages.
Older men, the group with the highest exposure
In addition, the team estimated the population's exposure to these chemicals by calculating the potential intake of the compounds in adult men and women, adolescents aged 10 to 19, and people over 65, differentiating by sex.
The group with the highest exposure turned out to be older men, mainly because, according to the consumption data used in the research, they are the ones who consume the most fish and seafood. Hake-based dishes contributed the most to total exposure, both due to the detected concentrations and the fact that it is one of the most consumed species.
The authors insist that these conclusions do not call into question the benefits of including fish and seafood in the diet, as they are considered healthy foods for their contribution of high-quality proteins, vitamins, and omega-3 fatty acids.
At the same time, they emphasize the need to adapt studies to current consumption patterns, given that most previous work had focused on raw products, while in recent years the intake of ready-made meals has increased significantly. "Analyzing these products, therefore, allows for a more realistic view of the population's actual exposure to chemical contaminants," they concluded.