Mercury, methylmercury and long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in selected fish species and comparison of approaches to risk-benefit analysis

A novel approach to assessing the joint effects of mercury and fish consumption on neurodevelopment in the New Bedford Cohort

Understanding health risks from methylmercury (MeHg) exposure is complicated by its link to fish consumption, which may confound or modify toxicities. One solution is to include fish intake and a biomarker of MeHg exposure in the same analytical model, but resulting estimates do not reflect the independent impact of accumulated MeHg or fish exposure. In fish-eating populations, this can be addressed by separating MeHg exposure into fish intake and average mercury content of the consumed fish. We assessed the joint association of prenatal MeHg exposure (maternal hair mercury level) and fish intake (among fish-eating mothers) with neurodevelopment in 361 children aged 8 years from the New Bedford Cohort (New Bedford, Massachusetts; born in 1993-1998). Neurodevelopmental assessments used standardized tests of IQ, language, memory, and attention. Covariate-adjusted regression assessed the association of maternal fish consumption, stratified by tertile of estimated average fish mercury level, with neurodevelopment. Associations between maternal fish intake and child outcomes were generally beneficial for those in the lowest average fish mercury tertile but detrimental in the highest average fish mercury tertile, where, for example, each serving of fish was associated with 1.3 fewer correct responses (95% CI, -2.2 to -0.4) on the Boston Naming Test. Standard analyses showed no outcome associations with hair mercury level or fish intake. This article is part of a Special Collection on Environmental Epidemiology.

Approaches to risk-benefit assessment of seafood consumption: lessons learned from an evidence scan

Qualitative and quantitative risk-benefit assessments (RBA) can be used to support public health decisions in food safety. We conducted an evidence scan to understand the state of the science regarding RBA in seafood to help inform seafood dietary advice in the United States. We collected published RBA studies assessing seafood consumption, designed inclusion and exclusion criteria to screen these studies, and conducted systematic data extraction for the relevant studies published since 2019. Our findings indicate the selection of health risks and benefits does not generally follow a systematic approach. Uncertainty and variability in RBAs is often not addressed, and quantitative RBAs making use of a single health metric generally have not been leveraged to directly support published regulatory decisions or dietary guidance. To elevate the role of RBA in supporting regulatory decision-making, risk assessors and risk managers must work together to set expectations and goals. We identified the need for a prioritization phase (e.g., multicriteria decision analysis model) to determine the risks and benefits of greatest public health impact to inform the RBA design. This prioritization would consider not only the degree of public health impact of each risk and benefit, but also the potential for risks and benefits to converge on common health outcomes and their importance to subpopulations. Including a prioritization could improve the utility of the RBAs to better inform risk management decisions and advance public health. Our work serves to guide the United States Food and Drug Administration's approaches to RBA in foods.

Development of Photonic Multi-Sensing Systems Based on Molecular Gates Biorecognition and Plasmonic Sensors: The PHOTONGATE Project

This paper presents the concept of a novel adaptable sensing solution currently being developed under the EU Commission-founded PHOTONGATE project. This concept will allow for the quantification of multiple analytes of the same or different nature (chemicals, metals, bacteria, etc.) in a single test with levels of sensitivity and selectivity at/or over those offered by current solutions. PHOTONGATE relies on two core technologies: a biochemical technology (molecular gates), which will confer the specificity and, therefore, the capability to be adaptable to the analyte of interest, and which, combined with porous substrates, will increase the sensitivity, and a photonic technology based on localized surface plasmonic resonance (LSPR) structures that serve as transducers for light interaction. Both technologies are in the micron range, facilitating the integration of multiple sensors within a small area (mm2). The concept will be developed for its application in health diagnosis and food safety sectors. It is thought of as an easy-to-use modular concept, which will consist of the sensing module, mainly of a microfluidics cartridge that will house the photonic sensor, and a platform for fluidic handling, optical interrogation, and signal processing. The platform will include a new optical concept, which is fully European Union Made, avoiding optical fibers and expensive optical components.

Dietary exposure to potentially toxic elements through sushi consumption in Catalonia, Spain

Although sushi is considered as a healthy food, it can also be a route of exposure to chemical contaminants such as potentially toxic trace elements. In this study, we analysed the concentration of Cd, I, Ni, Pb and total Hg, as well as iAs and MeHg in sushi samples. Iodine levels were higher in samples containing seaweed, while iAs concentrations were greater in rice-containing sushi. In turn, total Hg and MeHg were significantly higher in sushi samples with tuna. Health risks of sushi consumption were assessed for three population groups: children, adolescents and adults. Considering an average intake of 8 sushi pieces for adults and adolescents, and 3 sushi pieces for children, the estimated exposure to MeHg by adolescents exceeded the tolerable daily intake set by EFSA, while MeHg intake by children and adults was below, but close to that threshold. A relatively high daily exposure of Ni and Pb was also found, especially for adolescents. Since this study focused only on the consumption of sushi, the contribution of other food groups to the overall dietary exposure should not be disregarded. It might lead to an exposure to MeHg and other trace elements above the health-based guideline values.