Reports

Niðurstöður sívirkrar vöktunar á óæskilegum efnum í sjávarfangi úr auðlindinni 2024 / Undesirable substances in seafood – results from the Icelandic marine monitoring activities in the year 2024

Published:

09/01/2025

Authors:

Rebecca Sim, Julija Igorsdóttir, Maja Radujko, Natasa Desnica

Supported by:

Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries

Contact

Rebecca Sim

Specialist

rebecca@matis.is

Í þessari skýrslu eru teknar saman niðurstöður vöktunar á óæskilegum efnum í ætum hluta sjávarfangs 2024. Vöktunin hófst árið 2003 fyrir tilstuðlan þáverandi Sjávarútvegsráðuneytis, núverandi Matvælaráðuneytið, og sá Matís ohf. um að safna gögnum og útgáfu á skýrslum vegna þessarar kerfisbundnu vöktunar á tímabilinu 2003-2012. Vegna skorts á fjármagni í þetta vöktunarverkefni var gert hlé á þessari mikilvægu gagnasöfnun sem og útgáfu niðurstaðna á tímabilinu 2013-2016. Verkefnið hófst aftur í mars 2017 en vegna fjárskorts nær það nú eingöngu yfir vöktun á óæskilegum efnum í ætum hluta sjávarfangs úr auðlindinni sem ætlað er til manneldis, en ekki fiskimjöl og lýsi fyrir fóður. Af sömu ástæðu eru ekki lengur gerðar efnagreiningar á PAH og PBDE efnum.

Markmiðið með verkefninu er að sýna fram á stöðu íslenskra sjávarafurða m.t.t. öryggi og heilnæmis og hægt að nýta gögnin við gerð áhættumats á matvælum til að tryggja hagsmuni neytenda og lýðheilsu. Verkefnið byggir upp þekkingargrunn um magn óæskilegra efna í efnahagslega mikilvægum tegundum og sjávarafurðum, það er skilgreint sem langtímaverkefni þar sem útvíkkun og endurskoðun er stöðugt nauðsynleg.

Almennt voru niðurstöðurnar sem fengust 2024 í samræmi við fyrri niðurstöður frá árunum 2003 til 2012 sem og 2017 til 2023. Niðurstöðurnar sýndu að íslenskar sjávarafurðir innihalda óverulegt magn þrávirkra lífrænna efna s.s. díoxín, PCB og varnarefni. í þessari skýrslu voru hámarksgildi Evrópusambandsins (ESB) fyrir díoxín, díoxínlík PCB (DL-PCB) og ekki díoxínlík PCB (NDL-PCB) í matvælum samkvæmt reglugerð nr. 2023/915 notuð til að meta hvernig íslenskar sjávarafurðir standast kröfur ESB. Niðurstöður ársins 2024 sýna að öll sýni af sjávarafurðum til manneldis voru undir hámarksgildum ESB fyrir þrávirk lífræn efni og þungmálma. Þá reyndist styrkur svokallaðra ICES6-PCB efna vera lágur í ætum hluta sjávarfangs, miðað við hámarksgildi ESB samkvæmt reglugerð nr. 2023/915. Sömuleiðis sýndu niðurstöðurnar að styrkur þungmálma, t.d. kadmíum (Cd), blý (Pb) og kvikasilfur (Hg) í íslenskum sjávarafurðum var alltaf undir hámarksgildum ESB.
_____

This report summarises the results obtained in 2024 for the screening of various undesirable substances in the edible part of Icelandic marine catches.

The main aim of this project is to gather data and evaluate the status of Icelandic seafood products in terms of undesirable substances and the data can be utilised to estimate the exposure of consumers to these substances from Icelandic seafood and risks related to public health. The surveillance programme began in 2003 and was carried out for ten consecutive years before it was interrupted in 2013. The project was revived in March 2017 to fill in knowledge gaps regarding the level of undesirable substances in economically important marine catches for Icelandic export. Due to financial limitations the monitoring now only covers screening for undesirable substances in the edible portion of marine catches for human consumption and not feed or feed components. The limited financial resources also required the analysis of PAHs and PBDEs to be excluded from the monitoring, providing somewhat more limited information than before. However, it is considered a long-term project where extension and revision are constantly necessary.

In general, the results obtained in 2024 were in agreement with previous results on undesirable substances in the edible part of marine catches obtained in the monitoring years 2003 to 2012 and 2017 to 2023.

In this report from the monitoring programme, the maximum levels for dioxins, dioxin-like PCBs and non-dioxin-like PCBs in foodstuffs (Commission Regulation 2023/915) were used to evaluate how Icelandic seafood products measure up to limits currently in effect.

The results show that in regard to the maximum levels set in the regulation, the edible parts of Icelandic seafood products contain negligible amounts of dioxins, dioxin like and non-dioxin-like PCBs. In fact, all samples of seafood analysed in 2024 were below EC maximum levels.

Furthermore, the concentration of ICES-6-PCBs was found to be low in the edible part of the marine catches, compared to the maximum limits set by the EU (Commission Regulation 2023/915). The results also revealed that the concentration of toxic trace elements, i.e., cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb) and mercury (Hg) in the edible part of marine catches were below the relevant maximum limits set by the EU in all samples.

View report

Reports

Results of continuous monitoring of undesirable substances in seafood from the resource 2018

Published:

26/02/2019

Authors:

Sophie Jensen, Natasa Desnica, Branka Borojevic, Svanhildur Hauksdóttir, Helga Gunnlaugsdóttir

Supported by:

Ministry of Industry and Innovation

Contact

Sophie Jensen

Project Manager

sophie.jensen@matis.is

Results of continuous monitoring of undesirable substances in seafood from the resource 2018

This report summarizes the results obtained in 2018 for the screening of various undesirable substances in the edible part of Icelandic marine catches.

The main aim of this project is to gather data and evaluate the status of Icelandic seafood products in terms of undesirable substances and to utilize the data to estimate the exposure of consumers to these substances from Icelandic seafood and risks related to public health. The surveillance program began in 2003 and was carried out for ten consecutive years before it was interrupted. The project was revived in March 2017 to fill in gaps of knowledge regarding the level of undesirable substances in economically important marine catches for Icelandic export. Due to financial limitations the surveillance now only covers screening for undesirable substances in the edible portion of marine catches for human consumption and not feed or feed components. The limited financial resources have also required the analysis of PAHs, PBDEs and PFCs to be excluded from the surveillance, providing somewhat more limited information than in 2013. However, it is considered a long-term project where extension and revision is constantly necessary.

In general, the results obtained in 2018 were in agreement with previous results on undesirable substances in the edible part of marine catches obtained in the monitoring years 2003 to 2012 and 2017.

In this report from the surveillance program, the maximum levels for dioxins, dioxin-like PCBs and non-dioxin-like PCBs in foodstuffs (Regulation No 1259/2011) were used to evaluate how Icelandic seafood products measure up to limits currently in effect.

The results show that with regard to the maximum levels set in the regulation, the edible parts of Icelandic seafood products contain negligible amounts of dioxins, dioxin like and non-dioxin-like PCBs. In fact, all samples of seafood analyzed in 2018 were below EC maximum levels.

Furthermore, the concentration of ICES6-PCBs was found to be low in the edible part of the marine catches, compared to the maximum limits set by the EU (Commission Regulation 1259/2011).

The results showed that the concentrations of heavy metals, eg cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb) and mercury (Hg) in the edible part of marine catches were always well below the maximum limits set by the EU.

View report

Reports

Results of continuous monitoring of undesirable substances in seafood from the resource 2017 / Undesirable substances in seafood - results from the Icelandic marine monitoring activities in the year 2017

Published:

17/01/2018

Authors:

Sophie Jensen, Natasa Desnica, Erna Óladóttir, Branka Borojevic, Helga Gunnlaugsdóttir

Supported by:

Atvinnuvega- og nýsköpunarráðuneytið / Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture

Contact

Sophie Jensen

Project Manager

sophie.jensen@matis.is

Results of continuous monitoring of undesirable substances in seafood from the resource 2017 / Undesirable substances in seafood - results from the Icelandic marine monitoring activities in the year 2017

This report summarizes the results of monitoring of undesirable substances in edible parts of seafood in 2017. The monitoring began in 2003 with the help of the then Ministry of Fisheries, the current Ministry of Industry and Innovation, and Matís ohf. on the collection of data and the publication of reports for this systematic monitoring during the period 2003-2012. In recent years, there has been a lack of funds to continue work on this monitoring project, so this important data collection was suspended as well as the publication of results in the period 2013-2016. in edible parts of seafood from the resource intended for human consumption, but not fishmeal and fish oil for feed. For the same reason, no chemical analyzes were performed on PAH, PBDE and PFC substances this time. The aim of the project is to demonstrate the position of Icelandic seafood in terms of safety and health and to use the data in the risk assessment of food to ensure the interests of consumers and public health. The project builds a knowledge base on the amount of undesirable substances in economically important species and marine products, it is defined as a long-term project where monitoring and review is constantly necessary. In general, the results obtained in 2017 were in line with previous results from 2003 to 2012. The results showed that Icelandic seafood contains an insignificant amount of persistent organic pollutants such as dioxins, PCBs and pesticides. EU maximum levels for dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs (DL-PCBs) in food and feed were lowered on 1 January 2012 (EU Regulation No. 1259/2011) and maximum levels were set for "non-dioxin-like" PCBs (NDL-PCBs) for the first time ). The new maximum values are used in this report to assess how Icelandic seafood meets EU requirements. The results for 2017 show that despite the change in maximum levels for dioxins, DL-PCBs and NDL-PCBs, all samples of marine products for human consumption are below the EU maximum levels for persistent organic pollutants and heavy metals. The concentration of so-called ICES6-PCBs turned out to be low in the edible part of fish, compared to the new EU maximum values. The results also showed that the concentration of heavy metals, such as cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb) and mercury (Hg) in Icelandic seafood was always below the EU maximum values.

This report summarizes the results obtained in 2017 for the screening of various undesirable substances in the edible part of marine catches. The surveillance program began in 2003 and was carried out for ten consecutive years before it was interrupted. The project was revived in March 2017 to fill in gaps of knowledge regarding the level of undesirable substances in economically important marine catches for Icelandic export. Due to financial restrictions the surveillance now only covers screening for undesirable substances in the edible portion of marine catches for human consumption not feed or feed components. The limited financial resources also required that the analysis of PAHs, PBDEs and PFCs were excluded in the surveillance, and therefore this report provides somewhat more limited data than previously. However, it is considered to be a long-term project where extension and revision is constantly necessary. The main aim of this project is to gather data and evaluate the status of Icelandic seafood products in terms of undesirable substances and to utilize the data to estimate the exposure of consumers to these substances from Icelandic seafood and risks related to public health. Generally, the results obtained in 2017 are in agreement with previous results on undesirable substances in the edible part of marine catches obtained in the monitoring years 2003 to 2012. The results show that the edible parts of Icelandic seafood products contain negligible amounts of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) such as; dioxins, dioxin like PCBs and pesticides. As of January 1st 2012 Commission Regulation No 1259/2011, regarding maximum levels for dioxins, dioxin-like PCBs and non-dioxin-like PCBs in foodstuff came into force. This amendment to the existing regulation (No 1881/2006) resulted in changes in maximum levels for dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs for many food products due to changes in toxicological assessment of dioxins. Furthermore, maximum levels for non-dioxin-like PCBs have now been established in foodstuffs. In this report, we use these revised maximum levels for dioxins, dioxin-like PCBs and nondioxin-like PCBs in foodstuffs to evaluate how Icelandic seafood products measure up to limits currently in effect. The results obtained year 2017 reveal that all samples of seafood for human consumption were below EC maximum levels for POPs and heavy metals. Furthermore, the concentration of ICES6-PCBs was found to be low in the edible part of fish muscle, compared to the maximum limits set by the EU (Commission Regulation 1259/2011). The results showed that the concentrations of heavy metals, eg cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb) and mercury (Hg) in Icelandic seafood products was always well below the maximum limits set by EU.

View report
EN