Residual levels of antimicrobial agents and heavy metals in 41 species of commonly consumed aquatic products in Shanghai, China, and cumulative exposure risk to children and teenagers

Currently, few integrated studies of residual antimicrobial agents and heavy metals in aquatic products and their cumulative exposure risk to children and teenagers exist. In this study, residual levels of 37 antimicrobial drugs and 5 heavy metals in 41 species of commonly consumed aquatic food animals were determined using ultra-highperformance liquid chromatography coupled to triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QqQ-MS/MS) and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), respectively. All samples (n = 108) were collected in large aquatic markets in the summers of 2018 and 2019 in Shanghai, China. The results revealed that total 10 antibiotics were detected positive in the samples with an overall detection frequency of 61.3%. Chloramphenicol residue (47.2%) was dominant in the samples, followed by ampicillin (31.1%), and ciprofloxacin (15.1%), while lower occurrences of the other 7 drugs were found (0.9-3.8%). The residual chloramphenicol, ampicillin, and sulfapyridine (1.9%) exceeded their maximum residue limits (MRLs) with failed sample rates (FSRs) of 47.2%, 3.8%, and 1.9%, respectively. Meanwhile, four heavy metals, namely, copper (Cu), mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), and cadmium (Cd) were observed in the samples with positive sample rates (PSRs) of 100%, 100%, 77.4%, and 34.0%, respectively, none of which exceeded their MRLs. Moreover, our data indicated that residual levels of heavy metals (Cu, Hg, and Pb) were closely related with local gross domestic products (GDPs). Additionally, distinct antibiotic and heavy metal residue profiles were discovered among different origins, types and species of the consumable aquatic animals. Monte Carlo simulation analysis revealed that cumulative exposure to the heavy metals and antibiotics posed a low risk to children and teenagers aged 3-17 years in Shanghai. Consequently, the results here provide useful data in support of the increasing need of risk assessment of aquatic products and a reference for the development of aquatic product quality standards.

Automated summary

This study investigated the residual levels of antimicrobial agents and heavy metals in aquatic products in Shanghai, China, revealing that some antibiotics exceeded maximum residue limits while heavy metals did not. The residual levels of heavy metals were closely related to local gross domestic products, and there were distinct residue profiles among different origins and species of aquatic animals. Risk assessment showed low cumulative exposure risk of heavy metals and antibiotics for children and teenagers in Shanghai.