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Occurrence of Microplastics and Potentially Toxic Elements in Red Sea Crab (Portunus pelagicus) and Squid (Uroteuthis spp.): Contamination and Food-Safety Concerns
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Crabs and squid from the Red Sea were tested for tiny plastic particles and toxic metals. Crabs had far more suspected plastic particles than squid, with about half confirmed as polyethylene, while squid had higher iron and cadmium and crabs had higher arsenic and zinc. Overall health risk scores stayed below standard safety limits, except arsenic-related cancer risk estimates, which exceeded the threshold in some crab-eating scenarios.
Microplastics (MPs) and potentially toxic elements (PTEs) are co-occurring marine contaminants, yet integrated assessments of Red Sea seafood remain limited. This study evaluated MP contamination, PTE bioaccumulation, and dietary health risks in Portunus pelagicus (n = 281) and Uroteuthis spp. (n = 159) from Yanbu, Rabigh, and Umluj. A standardized subset of 180 specimens was examined for MPs using stereomicroscopy, yielding 508 suspected particles. All 508 particles were examined by FTIR, of which 260 (51.2%) were spectroscopically confirmed as polyethylene (PE), while 248 (48.8%) remained unconfirmed. Crabs showed approximately 10–89-fold higher suspected-particle burdens than squid (0.742–1.683 vs. 0.008–0.167 particles/g wet weight). Eleven PTEs were quantified in edible muscle by ICP-MS. Squid contained approximately 17–24-fold higher Fe and 5–7-fold higher Cd, whereas crabs contained 11–13-fold higher total As and higher Zn. Non-carcinogenic risk remained below the conventional threshold (HI < 1) across all scenarios, whereas estimated arsenic-related carcinogenic risk exceeded 1 × 10−4 in some crab-consumption scenarios under the assumed 7% inorganic-As fraction. Exploratory MP–PTE associations were strongly influenced by species identity and cannot establish MP-mediated PTE transfer.
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