Selenium Health Benefit Values and Hg and Se speciation studies for elucidating the quality and safety of highly consumed fish species and fish-derived products

Nowadays, there has been an increase in the consumption of fish-derived products that constitute alternative ways of introducing fish into the diet, such as fish roe and products made from fish (crab sticks and surimi-derived products). However, there is no data available considering selenium and mercury total contents along with speciation studies in these kinds of samples, which are mandatory for a proper safety and quality assessment. In this study, Selenium Health Benefit Values (HBVSe) in fish and fish-derived products were evaluated, resulting in positive in all cases. Selenium speciation studies performed by HPLC-ICP-MS and confirmed by HPLC-ESI-MS/MS revealed that SeMet and SeMeSeCys are present in fish and fish-derived products. Finally, Hg speciation studies show that the percentage of Hg2+ increases in fishes lower in the food chain as well as in fish-derived products.