Trace elements in crayfish from China: Tissue concentrations, spatial distribution and health risk assessment

The rising consumption of crayfish may lead to the accumulation of essential and toxic trace elements, but relative health risk via crayfish ingestion is still unclear. In this study, we investigated the concentrations and health risks of eight trace elements in crayfish from five different provinces in China, including arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), cobalt (Co), copper (Cu), mercury (Hg), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb) and selenium (Se). The results showed that trace element levels in crayfish abdominal muscle samples were below limits set by the Chinese food safety standard, whereas 87.9% (51/58) of hepatopancreas samples exceeded the limits. Trace elements in hepatopancreas were generally more abundant than in abdominal muscle (P < 0.001). The highest target hazard quotient (THQ) of As, Cd and Cu in hepatopancreas were 4.589, 1.268 and 1.380, respectively. The probabilistic risk assessment showed that the 95th percentile of THQ value for As in hepatopancreas was 3.240. These findings implied that consuming crayfish hepatopancreas may have a non-carcinogenic health risk. Thus, protective measures should be carried out to reduce trace elements pollution in crayfish cultivating regions.