Health risk assessment of arsenic and some heavy metals in the edible crab (Portunus trituberculatus) collected from Hangzhou Bay, China

In 2018, 108 swimming crabs (P. trituberculatus) were collected from the local market in Zhoushan. Each crab was separated into huang (the edible lipid portion) and meat groups and prepared according to different cooking methods. In most uncooked samples the levels of seven trace metals; mercury, cadmium, lead, zinc, copper, chromium and arsenic were higher in huang than in meat. Cadmium and total arsenic concentrations exceeded the maximum safe residue levels for China. Risk assessments revealed that only the cadmium levels in huang samples posed a toxicological risk to consumers, and uncooked huang were of carcinogenic concern. Cooking methods eliminated the carcinogenic risk and reduced the toxicological risk in huang by approximately 20%. These results show that the seven trace metals identified in P. trituberculatus from Hangzhou bay do not pose a safety concern for consumption of the meat or of the complete crab, after conventional cooking.

Automated summary

The study found that the huang (edible lipid portion) of swimming crabs contained levels of cadmium and total arsenic that exceeded China's safety standards, posing toxicological and carcinogenic risks. However, cooking methods eliminated the carcinogenic risk and reduced the toxicological risk in the huang by approximately 20%.