TITLE:
In-Vitro Analysis of Heavy Metals in Commercially Smoked Fish Sold in Kumasi, Ghana
AUTHORS:
Albert Kwamina Adjaye Aggrey, Emmanuel Agyapong Asare, Isaac Kwaku Attatsi, Emmanuel Dartey
KEYWORDS:
Heavy Metals, Smoked Fish, Bioaccessibility, In-Vitro Digestion, Hazard Index, Target Hazard Quotient, Kumasi Metropolis, Food Safety
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Industrial and Business Management,
Vol.16 No.9,
September
28,
2026
ABSTRACT: This study examined heavy-metal concentrations and gastric-phase solubility in three commonly sold smoked fish species: herring (Sardinella aurita), mudfish (Clarias gariepinus) and tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus): purchased from Atonsu, Kejetia, Asafo and Bantama markets in the Kumasi Metropolis, Ghana. A total of 120 fish from 20 vendors were dissected into heads, gills and fillets. Total concentrations of Cd, Pb, Cr, As and Hg were determined by Microwave Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (MP-AES) after aqua-regia digestion. An artificial gastric fluid (pH 1.25, porcine pepsin, 37˚C, 24 h) was used to quantify the gastric-phase soluble fraction of each metal; the procedure did not include an intestinal phase and therefore does not measure intestinal absorption or whole-gastrointestinal bioaccessibility. Pb, Cr and As were detected in all three species; Cd was found only in mudfish; Hg was below the detection limit in every sample. In the raw fish, concentrations of Pb, Cr and As consistently exceeded WHO/FAO limits. After simulated gastric digestion, substantial percentages of these metals were released into the soluble fraction, and several gastric-phase concentrations (particularly Cr and As in herring and mudfish, and Pb in herring and tilapia) still exceeded the corresponding WHO/FAO limits. Cadmium and lead in the mudfish gastric filtrates remained below the limits. Dietary exposure was calculated solely from the gastric-phase soluble concentrations measured in the edible fillets. The resulting Hazard Indices were 1.274 for herring (above the threshold of 1.0), 0.570 for tilapia and 0.308 for mudfish (both below 1.0). Lead and chromium were the principal contributors to the elevated HI of herring. The findings indicate that regular consumers of smoked herring in Kumasi may be exposed to potentially unsafe levels of Pb and Cr via the gastric-soluble fraction of the edible muscle. Regular monitoring of smoked fish, improved control of possible contamination sources, and public education remain necessary to protect consumers.