Fish and Shellfish Products and Mercury

Format	Author(s)	Title / Description	Date added	Details
	Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition/Committee on Toxicity	Advice on Fish Consumption: Benefits & Risks Report that weighs nutritional benefits against toxicological risks of fish, especially oily fish, consumption and develops dietary advice regarding fish consumption. Includes discussion of fish consumption in the UK, LC PUFA, fish consumption and cardiovascular disease, dioxins and PCBs, mercury, arsenic, lead, cadmium, and more. Annexes include "Fish consumption in the UK," "DHA requirements in pregnancy and lactation," "Updated COT statement on a survey of mercury in fish and shellfish," "COT statement on brominated flame retardants in fish from the Skerne Tees rivers system," and "COT statement on the tolerable daily intake for dioxins and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls". (more) Publication Year: 2004	Sep 3, 2004
	Food and Drug Administration	Backgrounder for the 2004 FDA/EPA Consumer Advisory: What You Need to Know About Mercury in Fish and Shellfish This document discusses the joint FDA/EPA consumer advisory "What You Need to Know About Mercury in Fish and Shellfish," including differences between this and other advisories, a discussion of future actions, and more. (more) Publication Month: March 2004	Mar 24, 2004
	Advisory Forum, European Food Safety Authority	EFSA Advisory Forum Event Berlin: Abstracts and presentations from this public event on topics related to the risk assessment process. Presentations include "Future perspectives in risk assessment: Key challenges and opportunities"/Jouve, Jean-Louis; "Future perspectives on risk assessment: key challenges and opportunities"/Feron, Victor J.; "Future perspectives on risk assessment: key challenges and opportunities"/Silano, Vittorio; "UK review of risks and benefits of fish consumption"/Benford, Diane; "Position of the French Committee of AFSSA on a risk/benefit analysis of GMOs"/Schwartz, Maxime; "Risk-benefit assessment of micronutrients - folic acid"/Flynn, Albert; and "Risk-benefit evaluation lessons for risk management and communication"/Renn, Ortwin. (more) Event Dates: Monday, November 8, 2004 - Tuesday, November 9, 2004 Publication Date: Friday, November 12, 2004	Aug 6, 2004
	Environmental Protection Agency	EPA's Roadmap for Mercury Report describing the Environmental Protection Agency's "progress to date in addressing mercury issues domestically and internationally, and outlines EPA's major ongoing and planned actions to address risks associated with mercury." Includes chapters on "Addressing Mercury Releases," "Addressing Mercury Uses in Products and Processes," and "Communicating to the Public about Mercury Exposure Risks." Covers risks related to mercury exposure in fish and in the water supply. (more) Deadline: Sunday, July 9, 2006 Publication Date: Wednesday, July 5, 2006	Jul 9, 2006
	Food and Drug Administration	FDA Announces Comprehensive Foods Advisory on Methylmercury FDA Talk Paper regarding the draft FDA/EPA advisory regarding methylmercury and the consumption of fish. Includes links to the draft advisory "Advice For Women Who Are Pregnant, Or Who Might Become Pregnant, and Nursing Mothers, About Avoiding Harm To Your Baby Or Young Child From Mercury in Fish and Shellfish" and an overview of the draft advisory. (more) Publication Date: Wednesday, December 10, 2003	Jan 7, 2004
	Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Food and Drug Administration	Fish and Fisheries Products Hazards and Controls Guidance: Third Edition This report discusses the FDA's thinking on the hazards associated with fish and fishery products and on controls for those hazards. It includes information on developing a HACCP Plan and discussion of such hazards as pathogens from the harvest area, parasites, natural toxins, chemical contaminants, aquaculture drugs, allergens, metal and glass inclusion, and more. (more) Publication Month: June 2001	Aug 7, 2002
	Fish Monitoring Program, State Veterinarian, Division of Environmental Health, Department of Environmental Conservation, State of Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation	Fish Monitoring Program Program that monitors Alaskan fish (salmon, halibut, pacific cod, sablefish, black rockfish, sheefish, lingcod, and pollock) for heavy metals, dioxins, furans, pesticides, PCBs, inorganic arsenic, and chromium VI. The website includes access to their data on contaminant levels in fish. (more)	Nov 1, 2004
	Teutsch, Steven M.; Cohen, Joshua T.	Health Trade-offs From Policies to Alter Fish Consumption Introduction to a series of articles on a Harvard Center for Risk Analysis project to assess potential health consequences of advisories or other policies that influence fish consumption. There is no abstract available for this article, and access to the full text may require subscription or purchase. (more) Deadline: Friday, November 11, 2005 Publication Month: November 2005	Nov 11, 2005
	Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Food and Drug Administration	Important Message for Pregnant Women and Women of Childbearing Age Who May Become Pregnant About the Risks of Mercury in Fish Consumer advisory about the risks of methylmercury in fish to unborn children. Publication Month: March 2001	May 29, 2002
	Unit D3 - Chemical and Physical Risks; Surveillance, Directorate D - Food Safety: Production and Distribution Chain, Health and Consumer Protection Directorate-General, European Commission	Information Note: Methyl Mercury in Fish and Fishery Products Information note regarding the European Food Safety Authority's recent opinion regarding methyl mercury and fish. Includes discussion of consumer warnings issued by countries regarding fish consumption. (more) Publication Date: Wednesday, May 12, 2004	May 17, 2004
	Hubbard, William K.	Letter Responding to Health Claim Petition dated November 3, 2003 (Martek Petition): Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Reduced Risk of Coronary Heart Disease (Docket No. 2003Q-0401) Letter regarding a qualified health claim on dietary supplements and conventional foods regarding the consumption of eicosapentaenoic acid [EPA] and docohexaenoic acid [DHA] omega-3 fatty acids and a reduced risk of coronary heart disease. Includes discussion of FDA's review of the qualified health claim, including a safety review, issues associated with fish and mercury, and other related issues. (more) Publication Date: Wednesday, September 8, 2004	Sep 10, 2004
	Hubbard, William K.	Letter Responding to Health Claims Petition dated June 23, 2003 (Wellness petition): Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Reduced Risk of Coronary Heart Disease (Docket No. 2003Q-0401) Letter regarding a qualified health claim on dietary supplements and conventional foods regarding the consumption of eicosapentaenoic acid [EPA] and docohexaenoic acid [DHA] omega-3 fatty acids and a reduced risk of coronary heart disease. Includes discussion of FDA's review of the qualified health claim, including a safety review, issues associated with fish and mercury, and other related issues. (more) Publication Date: Wednesday, September 8, 2004	Sep 10, 2004
	Crawford, Lester M.	Letter to Bill Lockyer, Attorney General of the State of California, RE: a Suit Filed on June 21, 2004 in San Francisco Superior Court, The People of the State of California v. Tri-Union Seafoods, LLC, et al., (Case No.: CGC-04-432394) Letter regarding a lawsuit related to Proposition 65 warnings about mercury and mercury compounds in tuna. The letter argues that Proposition 65 mercury warnings are preempted under federal law and are in conflict with FDA's approach to advising consumers of the risks and benefits of eating fish and shellfish. (more) Deadline: Friday, September 2, 2005 Publication Date: Friday, August 12, 2005	Sep 2, 2005
	Yokoo, Edna M., et al.	Low Level Methylmercury Exposure Affects Neuropsychological Function in Adults Report of a study of the effects of low level methylmercury exposure on neuropsychological function of adults in Brazilian fishing communities. Mercury concentrations in the subjects are largely due to intake of methylmercury through fish consumption. (more) Publication Date: Wednesday, June 4, 2003	Jul 29, 2003
	Office of Seafood, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Food and Drug Administration	Mercury Concentrations in Fish: FDA Monitoring Program (1990-2004) Table of mercury or methylmercury concentrations in samples from a variety of fish and shellfish. Publication Month: January 2006	Mar 24, 2004
	U.S. Department of Health and Human Services/Environmental Protection Agency	Mercury Levels in Commercial Fish and Shellfish Tables providing data on mercury concentrations in a variety of fish and shellfish. Publication Month: January 2006	May 29, 2002
	United Kingdom Food Standards Agency	Metals and Other Elements in Processed Fish and Fish Products Survey assessing 165 samples of processed fish and fish products in the United Kingdom for 14 metals and elements. Analyzes crustaceans, molluscs, canned fish, dried/salted fish and highly processed fish for aluminium, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, iron, lead manganese, mercury, nickel, selenium, thallium, tin and zinc. (more) Deadline: Thursday, May 4, 2006 Publication Date: Thursday, May 4, 2006	May 4, 2006
		Methylmercury in Fish - Summary of Key Findings from Focus Groups about the Methylmercury Advisory Summary report of findings from focus groups with pregnant women and women of childbearing age regarding the FDA/EPA advisory on mercury in fish and shellfish. (more) Publication Month: March 2005	Mar 25, 2005
	Norwegian National Institute of Nutrition and Seafood Research	Norwegian Seafood Data Searchable database of the levels of several contaminants among a variety of marine species in Norwegian waters. Also available in Norwegian. (more) Deadline: Wednesday, February 22, 2006	Feb 22, 2006
	Scientific Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain, European Food Safety Authority	Opinion of the CONTAM Panel Related to the Safety Assessment of Wild and Farmed Fish Opinion adopted on June 22, 2005 regarding wild and farmed fish, including discussion of nutrient and contaminant levels, beneficial effects of fish consumption, impact and risk assessment of the consumption of Baltic herring, and more. (more) Publication Date: Friday, July 1, 2005	Jul 8, 2005
	Scientific Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain, European Food Safety Authority	Opinion of the Scientific Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain on a Request from the Commission Related to Mercury and Methylmercury in food (EFSA-Q-2003-030) Opinion adopted on February 24, 2004 concerning an assessment of risk from mercury and methylmercury in foods based on intake estimates drawn from the SCOOP report, JECFA's provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI) value, and the U.S. National Research Council's intake limit. Recommendations for future work are included. (more) Publication Date: Wednesday, March 17, 2004	May 17, 2004
	Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard University	Prenatal Exposure to Mercury From a Maternal Diet High in Seafood Can Irreversibly Impair Certain Brain Functions to Children Release regarding a study published in the February 2004 issue of The Journal of Pediatrics that studied brain function impairment in children due to prenatal mercury exposure. (more) Publication Date: Friday, February 6, 2004	Feb 13, 2004
	Cohen, Joshua T., et al.	A Quantitative Risk-Benefit Analysis of Changes in Population Fish Consumption Report of a study to quantify health impacts of shifts in fish consumption as a result of advisories regarding modification of fish intake in certain populations. Access to the full text may require subscription or purchase. (more) Deadline: Friday, November 11, 2005 Publication Month: November 2005	Nov 11, 2005
	Office of Seafood, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Food and Drug Administration	References: Consumer Advisory on Methylmercury in Commercial Seafood Links to resources used by the FDA in forming its decision on methylmercury issued in January and March 2001. Publication Month: May 2001	May 29, 2002
	Binational.net	State of the Great Lakes 2003: Can We Eat the Fish? Fish Tissue Fact sheet regarding contaminants in fish from the Great Lakes, a publication of the State Of the Lakes Ecosystem Conference. (more) Publication Month: December 2003	Jul 28, 2004
	Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard University	Study Finds Government Advisories on Fish Consumption and Mercury May Do More Harm Than Good: Eating One Fish Meal Per Week Gives Significant Nutritional Benefit Press release regarding a study on the risks and benefits of fish consumption and the potential health risks that could result from misinterpretation of government advisories regarding mercury and fish consumption. The study results will be published as a series of five articles in the November issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. (more) Deadline: Friday, October 21, 2005 Publication Date: Wednesday, October 19, 2005	Oct 21, 2005
	U.S. Department of Health and Human Services/Environmental Protection Agency	What You Need to Know About Mercury in Fish and Shellfish: 2004 EPA and FDA Advice For: Women Who Might Become Pregnant, Woman Who are Pregnant, Nursing Mothers, Young Children This advisory provides recommendations regarding the consumption of fish and shellfish for certain groups of women and children. There is also a section of "Frequently Asked Questions about Mercury in Fish and Shellfish". (more) Publication Month: March 2004	Mar 24, 2004

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