Organotin Contamination in Seafood from the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico: Is There a Potential Risk for the Health of Consumers?

Abstract

Since seafood is considered the main source of organotin compounds (OTCs, the present study assessed the potential risk to human health of ingesting butyltins (BTs) and phenyltins (PhTs). Seafood samples were collected at five fishing sites in the Yucatán Peninsula during February and March 2018. In general, organotins were detected in all samples, suggesting a widespread occurrence of these compounds in the investigated region. The average concentration of total organotins in the muscle of demersal fish ( Lutjanus synagris , Lutjanus campechanus , Calamus pennatula , Haemulon plumierii , Rhomboplites aurorubens ), pelagic fish ( Euthynnus alletteratus , and Opisthonema oglinum ), gastropods ( Melongena bispinosa and Strombus pugilis ), oyster ( Crassostrea virginica ) and shrimp ( Penaeus duorarum ) was 146.5±76.5, 93.1±92.5, 61.0±52.9, 76.7±2.6, and 28.8±2.7 ng Sn g -1 dry weight, respectively. Overall, PhTs, especially MPhT were the predominant compounds in fish, while BTs, especially TBT, were in shellfish. Regarding the toxic OTCs, TBT followed by DBT were the predominant compounds in all seafood species, while TPhT was below the quantification limit in most samples. Nevertheless, the estimated daily intake values were lower than the tolerable daily intake (TDI) for the sum of organotins established by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Furthermore, the hazard quotients (HQ) and hazard indices (HI) values were all lower than 1, suggesting that daily exposure at these levels of organotins is unlikely to cause any harm to human health. Thus, consumers may not be at risk through the inclusion of these investigated seafood species in their normal diet. However, due to the increasing coastal urbanization, maritime activities, and the likely illegal use of tin-based paints in Mexico, additional monitoring is needed to assess organotins levels in other regions along the Mexican coastal zone and using other seafood species.

Keywords: Butyltins, Fish, Shellfish, Food safety, risk assessment, Phenyltins