Mercury in foodstuffs

Specific recommendations on contaminants (e.g., maximum levels of lead, cadmium or mercury) in foodstuffs are summarized in the European Union Regulations.9 The specifications concerning trace elements in foods and food additives are As < 3mgkg 1, Pb < lOmgkg-1, and Hg and Cd < lmgkg-1. 

An example is the determination of mercury in foodstuffs using cold vapour atomic absorption spectroscopy. The organic matter in foodstuffs is destroyed by wet oxidation. The mercury in solution is then reduced to the metallic state and released as a vapour in a stream of air. The quantity of mercury vapour in the air stream is measured by cold vapour atomic absorption spectroscopy. This part off the method is called the end determination. Often, as in this example, the end determination is equivalent to the analytical technique for the method. 

The European Union has implemented Regnlation 466/2001 of the Commission, according to which the maximum permitted tolerance valnes in total mercury in foodstuffs amounts to 0.5 mg/ kg fresh weight product in fishery products, except for certain fishes where the maximum level is 1 mg/kg fresh weight product. 

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