Relationship between seafood and heavy metals – Case study
The content “The Relationships between Seafood and Heavy Metals“, available in multiple languages and formats, aims to inform the public about heavy metals that pass through the food chain from seafood, which has been an important food source for people throughout history, in a simple, clear and concise manner, without leaving any gray areas, and to shed light on any remaining dark spots.
This project was planned, designed and prepared as an extension of the blog that prepares and publishes content at denizdenbabamciksa.com✝ to improve the perception of seafood and develop seafood consumption.
Problems and Goals
With the proliferation of digital communication and the democratization of expressing opinions, there is a digital noise created by inaccurate, distorted, incomplete, and disinformation tools, the main goals of this content are;
- to provide clear information on heavy metal sources,
- the heavy metal cycle,
- the entry of heavy metals into the food chain,
- the effects of heavy metals on the human body,
- seafood consumption during pregnancy.
The starting point of the project was the realization that there was a lack of content that provided understandable information, free from details and speculation and structured around different topics about heavy metals, which pass to humans through the food chain and cause various health problems by accumulating in different tissues of humans.
The target audience of the content prepared in different formats;
- consists of people who already eat seafood but have questions in their minds,
- people who avoid seafood for various reasons,
- people who think that all seafood contains heavy metals
- people who are concerned about consuming seafood while pregnant.
The research process
The content had to be developed from a holistic perspective. To this end, the process began from the very beginning, by defining what heavy metals were and their sources.
Reliable sources were used to analyze the effects of heavy metals on the human body and their subsequent effects, and these were categorized.
A special section was dedicated to heavy metal accumulation in seafood, the primary motivation behind the content’s creation. Heavy metal accumulation in seafood was further categorized into fishing, raising up, and consumption, broadening the scope of these topics. Recommendations for consuming seafood free from heavy metal hazards and for pregnant women to consume seafood were compiled.
During the content production phase, a short online course on heavy metal toxicity was taken from Prof. Dr. Bedii Cicik of the Department of Aquatic Engineering at Mersin University.
Design process
Care was taken to ensure that the content across all channels was similarly engaging and complementary.
The e-book content was designed using modern fonts and colors inspired by heavy metals.
For the content format designed for Instagram, Canva was chosen for ease of design on different devices, and more striking colors like blue and red were used.
A first-generation text-to-speech engines were used in the production of the audio content.
The book is planned to be read aloud in the future.
Results
The content, prepared for broadcast on visual, written, and audio channels, is available for download, viewing, and listening as an easily accessible narrative for consumers who want to;
- clearly understand the relationship between seafood and heavy metals,
- prioritize safe seafood consumption,
- confused about consuming seafood while pregnant.
