Environmental assessment of heavy metal concentrations in frozen imported fish tissues in Kufa city markets

Frozen fish has gained wide popularity among consumers in the city of Kufa due to its affordable price and the diversity of species available. The most common types on the market include silver pomfret (Pampus argenteus), common carp (Cyprinus carpio), catla (Catla catla) and pigeon fish (Therapon jarbua), in addition to boneless frozen fish fillets. These products reach Iraq, and subsequently the markets of Kufa, through imports from several countries such as China, India, Vietnam, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates, among others. Despite the economic advantages and variety of these species, many consumers remain unaware of the potential health risks they pose, since their tissues may accumulate heavy metals that could represent a The present study aims to investigate the accumulation of heavy metals in the edible muscle tissues of eleven of the most widely available imported frozen fish species in Kufa markets. These included: silver pomfret (Al-Sayyad and Al-Nahrain brands from Kuwait), silver pomfret (Al-Kifl and Al-Tayyib brands from China), Al-Fao pomfret (Al-Sayyad and Al-Nahrain brands from Vietnam), pigeon fish (Al-Khaleej brand from Vietnam), catla (Al-Sayyad brand from China), common carp (Myanmar–India), and frozen fish fillets The analysis focused on the concentrations of nine trace elements—Pb, Cd, Ni, Hg, Cu, Fe, Cr, Zn, and Al—because of their prevalence and recognized effects on human health when accumulated at elevated levels. To capture both temporal and spatial variations, samples were collected in two seasons: winter (5 January 2025) and summer (1 July 2025)