This study assessed the human health risks associated with mineral elements found in dried and smoked fish consumed in Ouagadougou. Thirty-five fish samples were collected from local markets in Ouagadougou. Atomic absorption spectrometry was used to quantify cadmium and lead, and energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry for copper, iron, calcium, zinc, potassium, sulphur, phosphorus, bromine, strontium, rubidium, ruthenium, hafnium. The United States Environment Protection Agency (US-EPA) model was used for health risk assessment. Cadmium was detected in smoked Anguilla bengalensis labiata (Peters, 1852), dried Chrysichthys nigrodigitatus (Lacépède, 1803), and dried Mormyrus rume (Valenciennes, 1847), with average concentrations of 2.45 ± 0.11 mg/kg, 1.80 ± 0.31 mg/kg, and 2,00 ± 0.15 mg/kg, respectively. Lead concentrations were below the limit of detection (0.782 mg/kg). Hafnium was detected only in smoked Oreochromis niloticus (Linnaeus, 1758) with a 0.25 ± 0.57 mg/kg content. Principal component analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis revealed that smoked A. bengalensis labiata, smoked Clarias gariepinus (Burchell, 1822), smoked Heterotis niloticus (Cuvier, 1829), dried C. nigrodigitatus, and dried M. rume contained higher levels of non-essential elements (bromine, ruthenium, and cadmium). The carcinogenic risk for cadmium exceeded the threshold set by the US-EPA (>10−4). This study highlights significant health risks associated with dried and smoked fish sold in Ouagadougou markets.

Fish products, Chemical contaminants, Estimated daily intake, Cancerogenic risk, Non-cancerogenic risk