UV-filters and musk fragrances in seafood commercialized in Europe Union: Occurrence, risk and exposure assessment

In the framework of the FP7 ECsafeSeafood project, 62 seafood samples commercialized in Europe Union from several representative species – mackerel, tuna, salmon, seabream, cod, monkfish, crab, shrimp, octopus, perch and plaice – were analysed for residues of 21 personal care products (PCPs), including 11 UV-filters (UV-Fs) and 10 musk fragrances (musks).

PCPs analysis were performed by Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective Rugged, Safe (QuEChERS), combined with liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) or dispersive solid-phase extraction (dSPE), followed by gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS). The results showed the presence in a wide range of samples of nine out of eleven UV-Fs compounds analysed, namely 2-ethylhexyl salicylate (EHS), 2-ethylhexyl,4-methoxycinnamate (EHMC), 4-methylbenzylidenecamphor (4-MBC), benzophenone-1 (BP1), benzophenone-3 (BP3), isoamyl-4-methoxycinnamate (IMC), 2,2′-dihydroxy-4,4′-dimethoxybenzophenone (DHMB), homosalate (HS), and octocrylene (OC), whereas galaxolide (HHCB), galaxolide lactone (HHCB-lactone), and tonalide (AHTN) were the most found musks.

The potential risks to human health associated with the exposure to eight of the more prevalent PCPs – EHS, EHMC, 4-MBC, BP1, BP3, IMC, HHCB, and AHTN - through seafood consumption were assessed for consumers from five European countries (Belgium, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain). Results showed that the human exposure to UV-Fs and musks estimated from the concentration values found in seafood and the daily consumption of concerned seafood species, were far below toxicological reference values.