Estimating Sustainable Fish Production: Effect on Fish Consumption Rates Used to Develop Remediation Goals at Contaminated Sediment Sites

Probabilistic risk assessment of sustainable fish consumption at sediment sites

A probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) using a range of sustainable usual fish consumption rates (SUFCRs) was performed to evaluate the potential health risks from consuming resident fish at two contaminated sediment sites. The analysis focused on the Portland Harbor Superfund Site, a large river in Oregon, and Koppers Pond, a small pond in New York. At both sites, the sediment cleanup remedy is driven by PCBs in resident fish. The PRA fit probability distributions to inputs used to develop a distribution of SUFCR, the long-term fish consumption rate sustainably supported by a fishery, and other exposure parameters to calculate the range and likelihood of cancer risks and noncancer hazards for adult anglers. At the 95th percentile, which is often considered a reasonable maximum exposure (RME), the SUFCRs calculated using site-specific inputs are six- to ten-fold lower than the point estimate fish consumption rates used in the deterministic baseline human health risk assessment conducted for each site. The combination of sustainable fish consumption rates and probabilistic methods results in a range of risks and thereby provides more information than the more commonly used deterministic approach. For over 99% of the resident fish-consuming population, the potential cancer risks and noncancer hazards calculated in the PRA are below the deterministic estimates for the RME adult consumer at each site. The combination of PRA with the estimation of SUFCRs is a novel application of these techniques at contaminated sediment sites that provides critical information for risk management decision-making. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2023;19:830-843. © 2022 AECOM Technical Services, Inc and The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC).

Shelf Life and Safety of Vacuum Packed HPP-Treated Soaked Cod Fillets: Effects of Salt Content and Multilayer Plastic Film

High microbiological quality standards, food safety, and environmental sustainability represent crucial topics in food production chains. For this reason, fish industries, which import salted and seasoned fish products from supplier countries, i.e., Norway, Denmark, USA (Alaska State), etc., have tried to reduce the salt content of each carton during transportation (reducing carbon emissions and the weight of major quantities of transported fish). In the present study, 360 differently processed fish fillet samples, belonging to the species Gadus macrocephalus caught in FAO zone 67, were microbiologically and chemically screened. This study aimed to provide original data concerning the applicability of sustainable solutions investigating the combined effects of salt content reduction combined with new recyclable multilayer plastic film packaging (vacuum skin packaging with two different oxygen transmission rate values). The microbiological results showed no substantial changes comparing the two differently salted products, highlighting their high hygienic characteristics which were also observed in their chemical analysis. The shelf life evolutions (comparing the two different studied plastic films) highlighted that, after 35 days from HPP treatments, bacterial loads gained high values, over 6 log cfu/g. This study highlights that, compared to the currently used plastic films, the results of the new and sustainable multilayer plastic films show that they can provide safe food matrices in combination with HPP technologies. Therefore, this preliminary investigation brings closer attention to alternative and environmentally sustainable production systems with their designs based on the multidisciplinary approach of food production systems.