Even though this is a vegan newsgroups, people are promoting fish for
their omega oil. While this may once have been sound advice from a
strictly health perspective, the reality is the highly toxic mercury is
in fish. It appears the higher on the food chain, the greater the
concentration of mercury.






Tests Find High Mercury Levels in Fish

By LIBYA QUAID, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 30 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - Store-bought swordfish contained mercury levels above the
legal limit in a study released Thursday by environmental groups.


A University of North Carolina Lab found elevated mercury concentrations
in 24 swordfish samples from supermarket chains including Safeway,
Shaws, Albertsons and Whole Foods.

Groups that paid for the analysis want supermarkets to post signs
warning shoppers of health risks from mercury.

"Americans have a right to know whats in their food, and posting warning
signs in grocery stores where these fish are sold is a simple,
common-sense solution that fulfills that right," said Jackie Savitz of
the advocacy group Oceana.

The federal government advises pregnant women, nursing mothers and young
children to avoid fish with high levels of mercury — shark, swordfish,
king mackerel or tilefish. Elevated mercury levels have been linked to
learning disabilities and developmental delays in children and to heart,
nervous system and kidney damage in adults.

Average levels were 1.1 parts per million, just over the goverment's
limit of 1.0 ppm. The
Food and Drug Administration can take legal action to remove a product
from the market if mercury levels exceed that limit. Two samples, from
Maine and Rhode Island, contained double the federal limit for mercury.

Traces of mercury are found in nearly all fish and shellfish. Released
through industrial pollution, mercury falls and accumulates in streams
and oceans as methylmercury. Methylmercury builds up in fish and
shellfish as they feed, in some types more than others.

However, eating fish also has widely acknowledged health benefits. The
American Heart Association advises people to eat fish at least twice a week.

FDA and EPA advise even at-risk people to eat up to 12 ounces — about
two meals a week — of fish and shellfish that are lower in mercury, such
as shrimp, salmon, pollock, catfish and canned light tuna. FDA says to
limit albacore, or "white," tuna to one meal per week because it
contains higher levels of mercury.

Of 31 tuna steaks sampled, mercury levels averaged 0.33 ppm, a level
comparable to that of canned albacore tuna.

___

On the Net:

Oceana: http://www.oceana.org