Analysis and risk assessment of eugenol residues in live freshwater fish and shrimp in Chongqing City

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to analyze the concentrations of eugenol residues in live freshwater fish and shrimp， and to evaluate potential human health risks associated with their consumption in Chongqing City.MethodsThe eugenol concentrations of 121 fresh freshwater fish and shrimp samples were determined using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry （UPLC-MS/MS） with isotope-labeled internal standard. The estimated daily intake （EDI） of eugenol from consuming these products was calculated based on food consumption data. Risk assessments were performed using the acceptable daily intake （ADI） values of 2.5 mg/（kg·BW/d） （JECFA， 2006） and 1.0 mg/（kg·BW/d） （EFSA， 2012）.ResultsThe detection rate of eugenol in fish samples was 68.75% （66/96）， with an average level of 0.403 mg/kg. No eugenol was detected in all 25 shrimp samples. The highest eugenol level （11.9 mg/kg） was found in a grass carp sampled from an agricultural product market. For fish species， the detection rates of eugenol in grass carp， hypophthalmichthys molitrix， and crucian carp were 78.12%， 78.26%， and 58.33% respectively， with average concentrations of 0.637， 0.363， and 0.197 mg/kg. Fish samples from agricultural product markets had significantly higher eugenol concentration （0.557 mg/kg） and detection rate （76.00 %） than those from retail stores （0.236 mg/kg， 60.87%） （P<0.05）. The EDI of eugenol through fish diet for individuals aged above 3 years old is between 0.16×10-3~8.82×10-3 mg/（kg·BW/d）， accounting for less than 1% of the ADI.ConclusionEugenol residues were detected in live freshwater fish samples other than shrimp samples in Chongqing City. Based on current monitoring data， the health risks associated with eugenol in live freshwater fish are relatively low.