Tengiliður
Undesirable substances in seafood – results from the Icelandic marine monitoring activities in the year 2020
This report summarises the results obtained in 2020 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 utilise the data 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 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.