Joint FDA and EPA Advisory
What You Need to Know about Mercury in Fish and
Shellfish – The Public Health Message
David W K Acheson M.D.
Center for Food Safety and Applied
Nutrition, FDA
Important factors in developing the
advisory
• What is known about current levels of MeHg in
women of childbearing age in the U.S.?
• Levels of MeHg in fish in the U.S.
• Who is the target population?
• Maintaining the public health balance between the
risks of exposure to MeHg an the benefits to be
gained from eating fish.
Cumulative Frequency
NHANES – Blood Mercury Levels in
Women of Childbearing Age
1
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
The BMDL
from Faroes
Istudy
RfD
0
10
20
30
Hg in Blood (ppb)
40
50
60
FDA 2003 Mercury Testing, 12
Species
• Samples were fresh, refrigerated or frozen
• Each sample tested was composite of 12
individual samples
• Tested in FDA laboratories
• Used standard methods for total mercury
Mercury Data in Selected Fish and Shellfish
Previous Data
Bluefish
Croaker
Grouper
Crawfish/crayfish
Trout Freshwater
Farm Raised Trout
Orange Roughy
Red Snapper
Trout Seawater
Tilefish
Golden Tilefish
Whitefish
Black Sea Bass
Sardine
2003 Data
MEAN RANGE
n
MEAN RANGE
n
0.30
0.28
0.27
NA
0.42
NA
0.58
0.60
0.27
1.45
NA
0.16
NA
NA
2
15
48
NA
NA
NA
9
10
4
60
NA
2
NA
NA
0.318
0.054
0.569
0.028
NA
0.033
0.485
0.154
0.328
NA
0.208
0.068
0.127
0.016
21
21
20
20
NA
15
20
12
20
NA
20
14
20
21
0.20-0.40
0.18-0.41
0.19-0.33
NA
1.22 (max)
NA
0.42-0.76
0.07-1.46
ND-1.19
0.65-3.73
NA
ND-0.31
NA
NA
0.139-0.479
0.013-0.096
0.072-1.205
0.014-0.047
NA
0.015-0.110
0.013-0.762
0.077-0.395
0.022-0.744
NA
0.055-1.123
0.027-0.137
0.058-0.352
0.004 - 0.035
2003 Testing of Canned Tuna
• 75% major brands
• 25% store, local or other brands
• Representative of the volume and type of major
and local brands and packing medium (spring
water, broth, oil) in area
• Samples collected in Los Angeles, San Francisco,
Seattle, Chicago, Dallas, New England, New
York, Florida.
Mercury Data in Canned Tuna
Previous data
2003 data
MEAN RANGE
Canned tuna 0.17 0.000-0.75
Albacore/
white tuna 0.29 ND- 0.49
n
248
MEAN
NA
17
0.358
0.03-.85
170
Light tuna
225
0.123
0.00-0.53
119
0.12
ND-0.75
RANGE
NA
n
NA
Title of Joint Advisory:
What You Need to Know about Mercury in Fish and
Shellfish
2004 EPA AND FDA ADVICE FOR:
WOMEN WHO MIGHT BECOME PREGNANT
WOMEN WHO ARE PREGNANT
NURSING MOTHERS
YOUNG CHILDREN
.
2004 Joint Advisory has three main
elements
Risk/Benefit Message
Consumer Advice
Additional Information
Risk Message
Who is at risk
WOMEN WHO MIGHT BECOME
PREGNANT, WOMEN WHO ARE
PREGNANT, NURSING MOTHERS,
AND YOUNG CHILDREN
Risk Message
(continued)
Why they are at risk
Fish and shellfish are an important part of a healthy diet. Fish
and shellfish contain high-quality protein and other essential
nutrients, are low in saturated fat, and contain omega-3 fatty
acids…
Yet some fish and shellfish contain higher levels of mercury that may
harm an unborn baby or young child’s developing nervous
system. The risks from mercury in fish and shellfish depend on
the amount of fish eaten and the levels of mercury in the fish and
shellfish.
Consumer advice
Benefits and risk
If you follow advice given by
FDA and EPA women and
children will receive the
benefits of eating fish and
shellfish and be confident that
they have reduced their
exposure to the harmful effects
of mercury.
Consumer advice
How much fish?
3 recommendations
1. Do not eat Shark, Swordfish, King Mackerel, or Tilefish
because they contain high levels of mercury
Consumer advice
(continued)
How much fish?
2. Eat up to 12 ounces (2 average meals) a week of a variety of fish
and shellfish that are lower in mercury.
•
Five of the most commonly eaten fish, low in mercury:
shrimp, canned light tuna, salmon, pollock, catfish
•
Another commonly eaten fish, albacore (“white”) tuna has more
mercury than canned light tuna. So, when choosing your two meals
…, you may eat up to 6 ounces (one average meal) of albacore tuna
per week.
Consumer advice
(continued)
How much fish?
3. Check local advisories about the safety of fish caught by
family and friends in your local rivers and coastal areas.
If no advice is available, eat up to 6 ounces (one average
meal) per week of fish you catch from local waters, but
don’t consume any other fish during that week.
.
Consumer advice
(continued)
How much fish
Follow these same recommendations when feeding fish
and shellfish to your young child, but serve smaller
portions.
Additional Information
1. What is mercury and methylmercury?
Mercury occurs naturally in the environment and can also
be released into the air through industrial pollution.
Mercury falls from the air and can accumulate in streams
and oceans and is turned into methylmercury in the
water. It is this type of mercury that is harmful to your
unborn baby. Fish absorb the methylmercury as they feed
in these waters and so it builds up in them. It builds up
more in some types of fish and shellfish than others,
depending on what the fish eat, which is why the levels
in the fish vary.
Additional Information
2. I'm a woman who could have children but I’m not pregnant -
so why should I be concerned about methylmercury?
If you regularly eat types of fish that are high in
methylmercury, it can accumulate in your blood stream over
time. Methylmercury is removed from the body naturally,
but it may take over a year for the levels to drop significantly.
Thus, it may be present in a woman even before she becomes
pregnant. This is the reason why women who are trying to
become pregnant should also avoid eating certain types of
fish.
Additional Information
3. Is there methylmercury in all fish and shellfish?
Nearly all fish contain traces of methylmercury.
However, larger fish that have lived longer have the
highest levels of methylmercury because they've had
more time to accumulate it. These large fish
(swordfish, shark, king mackerel and tilefish) pose
the greatest risk. Other types of fish are safe to eat in
the amounts recommended by FDA and EPA
Additional Information
4. I don’t see the fish I eat in the advisory. What
should I do?
• If you want more information about the levels in
the various types of fish you eat, see the FDA
food safety website www.cfsan.fda.gov/~frf/seamehg.html or the EPA website at
www.epa.gov/ost/fish.
Additional Information
5. What about fish sticks and fast food sandwiches?
Fish sticks and “fast food” sandwiches are
commonly made from fish that are low in mercury
Additional Information
6. The advice about canned tuna is in the advisory, but
what’s the advice about tuna steaks ?
Because tuna steaks generally contain higher levels of
mercury than canned light tuna, when choosing your two
meals of fish and shellfish, you may safely eat up to 6
ounces (one average meal) of tuna steak per week.
Additional Information
7. What if I eat more than the recommended
amount of fish and shellfish in a week?
One week’s consumption of fish does not change
the level of methylmercury in the body much at
all. If you eat a lot of fish one week, you can
cut back for the next week or two. Just make
sure you average the recommended amount per
week.
Additional Information
8. Where do get information about the safety of fish caught
recreationally by family or friends?
Before you go fishing , check your Fishing Regulations
Booklet for information about recreationally caught fish.
You can also contact your local health department for
information about local advisories. You need to check
local advisories because some kinds of fish and shellfish
caught in your local waters may have higher or much
lower than average levels of mercury. This depends on
the levels of mercury in the water in which the fish are
caught. Those fish with much lower levels may be eaten
more frequently and in larger amounts.
Additional Information
• For further information about the risks of mercury in fish and
shellfish call the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's food
information line toll-free at 1-888-SAFEFOOD or visit FDA's
Food Safety Website www.cfsan.fda.gov
• For further information about the safety of locally caught fish and
shellfish, visit the Environmental Protection Agency’s Fish
Advisory website www.epa.gov/ost/fish or contact your State or
Local Health Department. A list of state or local health department
contacts is available at www.epa.gov/ost/fish. Click on Federal,
State, and Tribal Contacts.
Outreach and Education
• General and specialized media
– Over 9000 print and electronic media outlets focused on
women (e.g. American Baby Magazine, Family Circle, Good
Housekeeping etc.)
• Physicians, nurses, health departments
– 30 women’s health associations through the Office of Women’s
health
• Membership organizations
– (e.g. American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of
Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American College of Nurse
Midwives, Women's Infant and Children Program)
• “Grass roots” education to high fish eating populations
Outreach and Education
• Develop brochures in English and Spanish
• Develop Federal-State working group to
coordinate methylmercury advisories
• Utilize the FDA regional public affairs specialists
and USDA extension agents for community
outreach.
• “Food Safety for Moms-to-be” (35,000 video,
power point, brochures etc.)
Evaluation: FDA Consumer Survey
• Is the message getting out there?
• Nationwide phone survey
• Measures consumer trends on food safety
knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors
Conclusions
• The advisory is designed to balance the positive
benefits of fish yet provide information on how to
be confident that exposure to the harmful effects
of mercury have been reduced.
• Goal is to have provide information regarding
which fish to choose – list of lower mercury fish.
• Planned outreach to ensure we get the correct
message out.