Trace elements concentrations (Zn, Cu, Pb, Cd, As and Hg) in the Mediterranean mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis) and evaluation of mussel quality and possible human health risk from cultivated and wild sites of the southeastern Adriatic Sea, Montenegro

The Mediterranean mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis (L.) was collected from the fall 2005 to the winter 2009 from the six sites on the Montenegrin coastline. Two wild samples were collected from the open sea coastline, and two cultivated and two wild were from the Boka Kotorska Bay. The mussels soft tissue was analyzed for zinc, copper, lead, cadmium, arsenic and total mercury. Concentrations of these metals, in mg kg super(-1) dry weight, ranged from 135-210 for Zn, 6.2-14.5 for Cu, 4.0-11.5 for Pb, 1.7-2.1 for Cd, 5.8-12.4 for As and 0.1-0.5 for Hg. The metals were found to be present in the samples at different levels, but not in concentrations higher than maximum residual levels prescribed by the European Union (EU) and US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) regulations for seafood. This indicates that the consumption of wild or cultivated mussels from the studied area is safe in moderate quantities.