Fish consumption and consumer awareness aspects of possible mycotoxin contamination in fish in Curitiba-PR, Southern Brazil

Abstract

The global per capita consumption of fish reached a record of 20.5 kg in 2018, thus demonstrating the sector’s importance. A potential risk to consider when consuming fish is the indirect intake of mycotoxins by humans when consuming fish from intensive fish farming fed with potentially contaminated mycotoxins. The aim of this study was to evaluate fish consumption and consumer awareness of possible mycotoxin contamination in Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil. The information was obtained through a questionnaire applied at supermarkets in 5 different city regions, obtaining 358 respondents. Descriptive analysis was performed on the data, followed by Spearman’s correlation analysis between the responses. It was observed that demographic data (e.g., age, gender, and social class) significantly influenced fish consumption frequency. Thus, 64.80% of respondents preferred tilapia meat over other fish species, 89.91% of people are unaware of mycotoxins, and 93.95% of people do not know what damage mycotoxins cause in human and animal health, and 86.17% of people did not know about any disease related to fish consumption. Schooling had a significant correlation with the aforementioned issues, demonstrating that lower educational levels negatively influence the perception of illnesses caused by food. The most consumed fish is farm-raised tilapia and the consequent possibility of mycotoxin exposure. Respondents are unaware of the possible mycotoxin presence infish and their impact on human health.