Sunday January 22, 2006

Section BAYLIFE

Page 8

What Fish You Buy Is Key To Avoiding Mercury

By MICHAEL HAWTHORNE and SAM ROE

Chicago Tribune

CHICAGO - Shipped from Singapore, the swordfish entered the United States without being tested for the toxic metal mercury.

When a fillet from that fish reached a display case at a supermarket in Illinois, it carried no government warning labels, even though federal officials know swordfish often is so contaminated that young children and pregnant women should never eat it.

When tested in a Chicago Tribune investigation, the fish showed mercury levels at three times the legal limit.

Despite decades of knowing high mercury levels can cause learning disabilities in children and neurological problems for adults, the government's mercury testing, warnings and rules enforcement appear inadequate.

And while regulators have issued numerous warnings for fish caught recreationally, they have rarely done so for seafood sold in supermarkets, where most people buy their fish.

But while it makes no difference where you shop - supermarkets, health food stores and gourmet fish shops often use the same suppliers - consumers can reduce their risks by choosing to buy certain kinds of seafood.

Small or short-lived species, such as sardines, shrimp, crab and tilapia, generally have low amounts of mercury. Wild salmon, which eat plankton and small fish, are low in mercury, as are farm-raised salmon, which are fed fish meal containing little mercury.

Large predator fish, such as swordfish and shark, generally have the most mercury.

Regulators report that fish sticks and fast-food fish sandwiches, which typically are made with pollock, are low in mercury.

Cooking does not remove mercury from fish because the metal is bound to the meat. A piece of tuna will have the same amount of mercury whether it is eaten raw as sushi or cooked on the grill.

Money offers no protection against mercury exposure. Rutgers University scientist Joanna Burger compared fish bought at stores in wealthy New Jersey areas with those bought in poor ones. She found no differences in mercury levels.

"They were mainly getting their fish from the same source," said Burger.

Whole Foods Market, which bills itself as the world's leading retailer of natural foods, said its seafood likely has as much mercury as fish sold elsewhere.

In small children, the symptoms of mercury poisoning are subtle decreases in learning abilities, delays in walking and talking and decreases in attention or memory.

For adults, symptoms are numbness in hands and feet, headaches, fatigue, loss of concentration, coordination or memory, blurred vision, hair loss, nausea and tremors.

Copyright (c) 2006, The Tampa Tribune and may not be republished without permission. E-mail library@tampatrib.com

Caption: CHICAGO - Shipped from Singapore, the swordfish entered the United States without being tested for the toxic metal mercury.</ CAPTION>;

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