Dry seafood products (DSPs) are ver

Dry seafood products (DSPs) are very popular in China and
some Asian countries. The production of DSPs in the region is huge,
and their manufacturing involves a widely diverse processes
including braise, baking, drying, flavoring, etc. Just as fresh seafood,
DSPs are also an important source of proteins, polyunsaturated
fatty acids, and a wide range of vitamins (B, D, and A) and minerals
(calcium, phosphorus, iron, etc.) in this part of the world. (FAO.,
1998). In fact, compared with the fresh ones, DSPs are more convenient
to store and cook, and are often sold commercially in instant
food formulations. Both DSPs and the fresh seafood are sometimes
contaminated with trace toxic elements such as arsenic. (Sikorski &
Kolakowska, 1994). For safety evaluation, the speciation of these
trace elements is just as important as the determination of their total
concentration levels since toxicity is critically dependent on
their exact chemical forms (Andreae, 1986; Penrose, 1974). For
example, the LD50 values (50% lethal dose; mg/kg) of different arsenic
species vary widely as: arsine 3, arsenite 14, arsenate 20,
monomethylarsonic acid 700–1800, dimethylarsinic acid 700–
2600, arsenocholine 6500 arsenolipids >8000, and arsenobetaine
>10,000 (Nriagu, 1994)