There are numerous health benefits to be gained by including fish in our diet. However, some fish contain high levels of mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). The U.S. EPA and FDA have issued recommendations to limit the amount of mercury and PCBs consumed by limiting eating of certain types of fish. Environmental Health Consulting has compiled information from several federal, state, and non-governmental organization resources for this summary.

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Resources

1. U.S. EPA and FDA. 2004. Joint Recommendations: What You Need to Know About Mercury in Fish and Shellfish. http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/fishadvice/advisory.pdf
2. U.S. FDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. 2001. Mercury Levels in Seafood Species. www.cfsan.fda.gov/~frf/sea-mehg.html
3. American Fisheries Society and U.S. EPA. 2002. National Forum on Contamination in Fish: Proceedings. http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/fish/forum/2002forum_complete.pdf
4. U.S. EPA Office of Water. 2003. Update: National Listing of Fish and Wildlife Advisories. http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/fish
5. State of Illinois Department of Public Health. 2003. Fish Advisories for the State of Illinois . www.idph.state.il.us/envhealth/fishadv/fishadvisory03.htm
6. Environmental Working Group. 2003. ENG's Fish List: What Women Should Know About Mercury in Fish.” http://www.ewg.org/reports/BrainFood/pr.html