The Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency have issued updated guidance about fish consumption for pregnant women and young children, clarifying which types of fish are recommended and what types of fish to avoid.
In guidance issued Jan. 18, the agencies sort 62 types of fish into three categories based on mercury level: best choices, good choices, and fish to avoid. They recommend that women who are pregnant, women who may become pregnant, breastfeeding mothers, and young children eat two to three servings of fish in the “best choices” category per week. Women and young children are advised to eat one serving per week of fish in the “good choices” category, according to the announcement. Fish in the “best choices” category make up nearly 90% of fish eaten in the United States, according to the FDA.
“Fish are an important source of protein and other nutrients for young children and women who are or may become pregnant or are breastfeeding,” Stephen Ostroff, MD, FDA’s deputy commissioner for Foods and Veterinary Medicine, said in a statement. “This advice clearly shows the great diversity of fish in the U.S. market that they can consume safely. This new, clear and concrete advice is an excellent tool for making safe and healthy choices when buying fish.”
The updated advice cautions pregnant women and others to avoid seven types of fish that generally have higher mercury levels. This includes tilefish from the Gulf of Mexico, shark; swordfish; orange roughy, bigeye tuna; marlin, and king mackerel. Meanwhile, recommended choices lower in mercury include such fish as shrimp, pollock, salmon, canned light tuna, tilapia, catfish, and cod.
Consumers are urged to check local advisories for fish caught recreationally and gauge their fish consumption based on any local and state advisories for those waters. If no information on fishing advisories is available, the FDA recommends eating just one fish meal a week from local waters and to avoid other fish that week.
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