Abstract
Mercury (Hg) is a toxic element that bioaccumulates in aquatic organisms, posing health risks through seafood consumption. This study quantified total Hg in canned tuna in oil purchased from supermarkets in the Metropolitan District of Quito, Ecuador. Three commercial brands were analyzed according to market price (A < B < C) using a direct mercury analyzer. Mean Hg concentrations were 0.22 ± 0.10 mg/kg, 0.63 ± 0.10 mg/kg, and 0.36 ± 0.15 mg/kg for brands A, B, and C, respectively. All values complied with international safety limits; however, the non-carcinogenic risk (HQ > 1) associated with methylmercury exposure from brand C exceeded the reference threshold established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Recommended weekly intake of tuna to avoid health risks was estimated at 106 g (children) and 512 g (adults) for A; 26 g and 126 g for B; and 64 g and 307 g for C, respectively.
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Data “available on request”: lmfernandez@puce.edu.ec.
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The authors of this research thank the Research Directorate of the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador for their funding.
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E.T.C.: data curation and methodology; L.F.: contributed to funding acquisition, conceptualisation, data curation, formal analysis, methodology, project administration, supervision and writing; N.C.S.: contributed to data acquisition, data curation, methodology and supervision; M.R.U.: contributed to data acquisition, data curation and methodology; E.O.M.M.: contributed to formal analysis; D.B.M.: contributed to data curation and methodology; P.E.M.: contributed to data curation and writing.
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Trujillo-Cruz, E., Fernández, L., Carpintero-Salvador, N. et al. Total mercury exposure through canned tuna in oil sold in Quito Ecuador. npj Sci Food (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41538-025-00693-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41538-025-00693-4
