Inorganic arsenic: ANZFA recently reviewed the public health risks due to heavy metal contamination in foods [5,7]. Data on concentrations of heavy metals in foods were used to provide an estimate of total dietary exposure. For inorganic arsenic, fish contributed up to 14 per cent of the total dietary exposure, and high consumers could receive up to 4 per cent of the PTDI for inorganic arsenic, assuming the inorganic arsenic content of seafood is 6 per cent of the total arsenic content.
Mercury: At the time of the review of metal contaminants in food [7], ANZFA concluded that median level consumers of fish were unlikely to exceed the PTWI for mercury. However, frequent consumers of fish might exceed the PTWI if all their consumption was of predatory or long-lived fish species. FSANZ has reviewed its risk assessment of mercury due to the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA’s) recent lowering of the PTWI [61], and has issued an updated advisory statement concerning consumption of fish by pregnant women and those considering becoming pregnant.
For the susceptible sub-population (the foetus), the likelihood ranking for mercury is likely if a significant proportion of the mother’s fish intake is from large, carnivorous or long-lived fish species (for example, shark, billfish, orange roughy).
