UN committee reduces safety limits for mercury

01/07/03 - Experts convened by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) are to reduce their recommended safe intake level for methylmercury, the most toxic form of mercury, in foods, after studying new data.

The Joint Expert Committee for Food Additives and Contaminants (JECFA), meeting last week at FAO's Rome headquarters, said that after looking at new data for methylmercury and, crucially, in order to sufficiently protect the developing foetus, the PTWI has been reduced to 1.6 µg per kg body weight per week.

The foetus is exposed to methylmercury through contaminated food eaten by pregnant mothers. This new recommendation changes the prior recommendation for a dietary limit of 3.3 µg per kg body weight per week. Fish species such as swordfish and sharks are the most significant source of methylmercury in food.

However, not wishing to steer consumers away from real health benefits found in the large majority of fish species, the committee stressed that when providing advice to consumers and setting limits for methylmercury concentrations, public health authorities should keep in mind that fish play a key role in meeting nutritional needs in many countries.

JECFA meets regularly to provide safety and risk assessment advice to countries and to the Codex Alimentarius Commission. Codex - meeting this week in Rome to discuss world food trade and food safety - recommends international standards for food safety and quality, as well as codes of practice and guidelines.

When fish are foul
By Stuart Blackman
The Scientist.com
September 18, 2003

Migrating salmon transport pollutants from the sea to their freshwater spawning grounds
By Stuart Blackman

Salmon are famous for their mass migration from the sea to their freshwater spawning grounds. Sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) live most of their lives in the North Pacific Ocean, where they accumulate 95% of their biomass. On reaching reproductive age, they can migrate as far as 1000 km up North American rivers to spawn in lakes, dying soon afterward and subsequently releasing their constituents into the freshwater ecosystem. In a brief communication the September 18 Nature E.M. Krümmel and colleagues at the University of Ottawa report that this complicated life history means that sockeye salmon can act as bulk transport vectors for pollutants from the ocean to freshwater systems (Nature, 424:255-256, September 18, 2003).

Krümmel et al. focused on polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which are produced by industrial processes such as waste incineration and which can be dispersed directly into the atmosphere or can be washed into aquatic environments. Seawater typically contains 1 ng of PCBs per liter; 1 gram of salmon body fat can contain 2500 ng. The authors analyzed sediment from eight Alaskan lakes and showed that the PCB concentration and accumulation rate in lake sediments correlated strongly with the density of spawning salmon. PCB concentrations in Frazer Lake-which has annual salmon returns of 11,700 fish per km2-were 10 times those of Spiridon Lake, which does not receive spawners. In addition, the PCB signature from Frazer Lake corresponded to that found in the tissues of the salmon. The PCBs from Spiridon Lake, however, consisted mainly of lighter forms, which are readily deposited from atmospheric sources.

"Returning sockeye salmon act as 'biological pumps' by transporting contaminants upstream, where pollutants may affect their offspring and/or predators such as bears, eagles and humans. Whether these contaminants affect juvenile salmon survival is yet unknown, but they are suspected of causing immunosuppression. Ironically, the marine-nutrient pump, which historically has increased successful recruitment, may now pose a risk to some of these populations," conclude the authors.

Comment from Dr. Gordon: Another Shameless Commercial

This is the end result of POISONING of our planet; we need the fish oil for optimal health and then are afraid to consume the fish due to the PCB's, toxic metals, dioxins etc. In fact, they now have proof that salmon going up stream and dying are contaminating the fresh water streams and ponds with the organic toxins found concentrated in their tissues.

And, this is the reason I have been searching the planet for the cleanest source of OMEGA 3 to put into my Beyond Chelation formula. Our new Omega 3 from Iceland is pharmaceutical grade and certified to be free of PCB, dioxins, heavy metals and pesticides. The new Beyond Chelation Improved (BCI) will contain it but you may also order it separately.

Sincerely,
Garry F. Gordon, MD,DO,MD(H)

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