October 15, 2007

Norway develops new method to determine metal levels in seafood

A new method to determine the levels of mercury, arsenic, cadmium and lead in seafood and other foodstuffs has been developed by NIFES, or the Norwegian National Institute of Nutrition and Seafood Research. 

The method was recently approved as a reference method in the Nordic Committee on Food Analysis.

The EU sets limits for these metals in seafood and tests for them. Previously, several analytical methods were used separately to determine the levels of these metals in foodstuffs.

Now, with a single method, the analytical process becomes both less time consuming and more cost effective, said Julshamn, Head of Research at the Surveillance Research Programme at the National Institute of Nutrition and Seafood Research, NIFES, in Norway.