Amber Valletta on Preventing Mercury Exposure

Published:

WASHINGTON, May 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Oceana, an international ocean conservation group based inWashington, D.C., has been working to prevent seafood contamination for many years. Consuming big fish high on the food chain is the primary way that we are exposed to mercury, a heavy metal that can cause neurological and other health problems.

In honor of Mother's Day, Oceana celebrity spokes-Mom Amber Valletta offers a few tips for keeping your family mercury-free (and worry-free):

    --  Choose low-mercury fish--fish that are small and low on the food chain. 
        Because mercury bioaccumulates up the marine food chain, small fish such
        as tilapia and cod and shellfish such as shrimp, crab and oysters have
        low mercury levels.  The Washington State Department of Health has a
        very handy pocket guide to mercury levels in fish
        (http://www.doh.wa.gov/ehp/images/fishchart-v2.jpg).

    --  Limit fish consumption to 12 ounces a week for kids and women,
        especially if you're thinking about getting pregnant. Because
        mercury is a neurotoxin that can affect children, babies and fetuses at
        lower doses than adults, it's most important for kids and women who
        are pregnant, nursing or may become pregnant to avoid high-mercury fish.
        Keep in mind that your body can take a while to excrete mercury that you
        consumed before you got pregnant, so if there's any chance you may
        become pregnant soon, it's best to be cautious about mercury in
        fish.

    --  Choose "chunk light tuna" or canned wild Alaska salmon over
        "solid white albacore tuna."  The average level of mercury in
        cans of chunk light tuna, usually skipjack tuna, tested by the Food and
        Drug Administration, was about one third the average mercury level in
        the cans of albacore the FDA tested.  If your family can adjust, you
        might try switching to canned salmon, instead of tuna, which has tested
        even lower in mercury and higher in healthy Omega-3s.  For more
        information, check out Oceana's page about mercury in canned fish
        (http://www.oceana.org/north-america/what-we-do/stop-seafood-contaminati
        on/the-problem/protect-your-family/canned-fish).

    --  Tell your grocery store to post signs containing the FDA advice
        (http://takeaction.oceana.org/t/3042/content.jsp?content_KEY=3056) about
        mercury for women of child-bearing age and children at their seafood
        counters.  Oceana has persuaded nearly 30% of U.S. grocery stores to
        post this information but they're working to get even more on
        board.  If your grocery store were posting this information, you
        wouldn't need to read my tips!

    --  To help keep all of our kids mercury-free, donate to Oceana's
        Campaign to Stop Seafood Contamination.  They are working to reduce
        mercury pollution released into the environment and to educate the
        public about mercury in seafood.

For more specifics about Oceana's campaign, go to

http://www.oceana.org/north-america/what-we-do/stop-seafood-contamination/

Amber Valletta file photo:

http://www.oceana.org/fileadmin/oceana/uploads/mercury/Valletta-Oceana.JPG

Amber Valletta biography:

http://www.oceana.org/north-america/what-we-do/stop-seafood-contamination/media-resources/amber-valletta/

SOURCE Oceana

Tags: Tags: Environment, Healthcare, Food and Beverages, , Health, district of columbia

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