What are acceptable levels of mercury in fish?
Screening Values for Fish Categories Highest allowable average mercury concentration in fish per serving when eating 3 servings per week = 0.15 µg/g. Any fish with an average mercury concentration less than or equal to 0.15 µg/g was placed in the “best choices – eat 2-3 servings a week” category.
Which fish is lowest in mercury?
Five of the most commonly eaten fish that are low in mercury are shrimp, canned light tuna, salmon, pollock, and catfish. Another commonly eaten fish, albacore (“white”) tuna, has more mercury than canned light tuna.
What fish is high in mercury?
Fish that contain high levels of mercury include shark, orange roughy, swordfish and ling. Mercury is a naturally occurring element that is found in air, water and food. The unborn baby is most sensitive to the effects of mercury, particularly during the third and fourth months of gestation.
How much mercury ppm is safe?
The EPA has established a limit of 2 parts per billion (ppb) of allowable mercury of drinking water. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has set a maximum permissible level of 1 part of methylmercury in a million parts of seafood (1 ppm).
Do small fish have less mercury?
Smaller fish such as salmon, scallops, sardines and shrimp contain less mercury than their larger predators such as bigeye tuna and swordfish. The standard serving size of fish is about four ounces — or the size of the palm of your hand, according to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration.
How much mercury is in fish micrograms?
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommends that people avoid fish that contains more than 0.5 parts per million (or 0.5 micrograms per gram) of mercury. And the EPA’s current reference dose–the highest dose that a person is supposed to consume–is 0.1 microgram/kg body weight per day.
How much mercury is toxic fish?
Another study discovered that one-third of fish caught on the New Jersey shore had mercury levels higher than 0.5 parts per million (ppm) — a level that could cause health problems for people who eat this fish regularly ( 3 ).
