Nutritional Deficiencies and Contamination Risks in Commercial Fish Feeds: an ICP-OES-Based Evaluation in Erbil, Iraq

The Study was carried out to determine the safety profile and nutritional adequacy of fish feeds commercially available in Erbil, Iraq. Local markets provided 20 feed samples, including edible and ornamental fish species from five countries. An elemental analysis of 28 constituents was conducted on the sampled materials using microwave digestion and Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES). The results showed that the compositional heterogeneity was quite large, with coefficients of variation varying between 12.3% and 201.9%. Lead (Pb) and arsenic (As) were detected in 45% and 70% of the samples, respectively; all concentrations were within internationally accepted safety limits, and no cadmium (Cd) was detected. However, there were also severe nutritional deficiencies found: 60 % of the samples were found to be deficient in copper, and 30 % in zinc, and one sample had toxic levels of selenium (28.8 mg/kg). Multivariate statistical analysis gave major causes of variation to the geological, nutritional, and industrial factors. These findings outline large gaps in quality management and the importance of increased control by regulation to secure sustainability in aquaculture and preserve consumer health.