The FDA and EPA recently issued draft advice on the recommended weekly consumption of fish and seafood (i.e. shellfish) for pregnant and breastfeeding women, women who might get pregnant, and young children.
The draft advice recommends consumption of 8-12 ounces of fish each week, which amounts to about 2 or 3 servings a week. The draft advice further recommends that individuals consume fish low in mercury, and avoid a handful of fish that are particularly high in mercury. Mercury, found in fish as methylmercury, is a neurotoxin.
The draft advice would update recommendations from 2004 to comport with the USDA's 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
According to the draft advice, the four categories of fish that have the highest reported levels of methymercury are: Shark, Tilefish from the Gulf of Mexico, Swordfish, and King Mackerel.
To provide a comment to the FDA, click here.
Neil Pederson, J.D. Expected, William Mitchell College of Law
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