Mercury ...... How do you know if your food is contaminated? How can you avoid it?

 

Excessive mercury consumption is a serious health concern and certain types of fish do contain significant amounts of mercury, so you need to be careful about the type of fish you eat and how often you eat it. High levels of mercury intake can damage the nervous system, with unborn babies most at risk since their brains are developing so rapidly. Consequently, pregnant women, women planning a pregnancy and breastfeeding women, as well as babies and children, should limit their fish consumption.

In general, big predatory fish tend to contain more mercury; the higher up they are in the food chain the higher the mercury content. Higher-mercury-content fish such as shark (flake) and billfish (swordfish, marlin) should be limited to 150g a week, with no other fish being consumed that week. For pregnant women, or those planning a pregnancy, this should be limited to 150g a fortnight, with no other fish that fortnight. For children six years and under, one 75g serve per fortnight is the limit.

The general population can eat two to three serves per week of most other lower-mercury-content fish and seafood, but pregnant women and kids should limit themselves to one serve a week (150g for adults and 75g for kids) of fish with moderate levels of mercury such as orange roughy (deep sea perch) and catfish, and two to three serves per week of low-mercury-containing fish such as salmon and shellfish.

Fish is a great source of protein and omega-3 oils and is low in saturated fat, so don't avoid it altogether; just limit your intake of the large fish at the top end of the food chain.