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Heed
the warnings about mercury in fish
April 24, 03
Suzanne Havala Hobbs
If
pregnancy is a possibility or you have
young children in the house, you need to
be aware of new advice concerning mercury
levels in fish.
In general, fish is a far better choice
than red meat or poultry where nutrition
and health are concerned. Some fish are
rich sources of health-supporting omega-3
fatty acids, and fish is lower in
saturated fat and cholesterol than other
meats.
But some fish contain high levels of
mercury, a pollutant that can cause
serious and irreversible damage to the
brains and nervous systems of developing
fetuses or young children.
The Food and Drug Administration this
month expanded its warnings about mercury
in fish. The change brings the FDA’s
recommendations in line with those issued
by the Environmental Protection Agency
and the National Academy of Sciences and
is five times more protective than the
standard that has been in place at FDA
for two decades.
Mercury reaches fish when it falls from
polluted air into rivers and streams or
is washed into waterways in runoff from
contaminated land. Bacteria convert
mercury into methylmercury, a highly
toxic byproduct that accumulates in fish
tissues.
Big fish eat little fish, and bigger fish
eat the big fish. The larger and older
the fish, the more the mercury.
There’s no way to reduce the mercury
content by cleaning the fish or by
cooking.
Fish vary in methylmercury content. Those
likely to contain the most include shark,
swordfish, tilefish, and king mackerel.
The FDA advises that women of
childbearing age, pregnant and nursing
women, and young children avoid these
fish completely.
Also, in North Carolina, the N.C.
Division of Public Health recommends that
women of childbearing age and children
completely avoid blackfish (bowfin),
largemouth bass, and jack fish (chain
pickerel) caught south and east of
Interstate 85. Men, women 45 years of age
and older, and children 15 years of age
and older should eat no more than one
serving (6 ounces of cooked fish for
adults) of any of these or the FDA-listed
fish per week.
Tuna is of special concern, given its
popularity among women and children.
Consumer groups have criticized FDA for
not issuing warnings about tuna, which
can contain as much mercury as other
high-mercury fish. In fact, advisers to
FDA have suggested warning pregnant women
not to eat more than two six-ounce cans
of tuna per week if they eat no other
fish, and no more than one can per week
if they do eat other fish.
The FDA says it plans to study the types
and amounts of fish commonly eaten by
at-risk women and young children and will
issue a recommendation about limits on
canned tuna consumption by the end of the
year.
In the meantime, consumer groups say you
shouldn’t wait to take precautions.
Ten states already have advisories in
effect telling women of childbearing age
and young children to limit consumption
of canned tuna.
The advocacy group Center for Science in
the Public Interest recommends the
following measures to protect against
eating too much mercury from tuna:
• Everyone should limit canned tuna
to 7 ounces a week. Women of childbearing
age should eat no more than 5 ounces per
week.
• Children 25 to 45 pounds should
limit canned tuna to no more than 5
ounces per month. Cut that in half for
kids less than 25 pounds.
Pregnant women should also completely
avoid tuna steaks, sea bass, Gulf Coast
Oysters, marlin, halibut, pike, walleye,
white croaker, and largemouth bass, says
the Environmental Working Group, another
Washington-based consumer group.
Also: Eat not more than one serving per
month of canned tuna, mahi mahi, blue
mussel, Eastern oyster, cod, pollock,
Great Lakes salmon, Gulf Coast blue crab,
channel catfish (wild), and lake
whitefish, the EWG advises.
So what’s left? Fish lowest in
mercury content include: farm-raised
catfish, mid-Atlantic blue crab, croaker,
fish sticks, flounder (summer), haddock,
farm-raised trout, wild Pacific salmon
and shrimp.
For more information, check out http://www.epa.gov/ost/fish
and http://www.schs.state.nc.us/epi/fish/.
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