Mercury Contamination page

[Stu]

Is mercury as large of a concern with canned pink salmon as it is with canned tuna?

I know everyone has said that anchovies and mackerel are good options besides tuna, but I do not like anchovies and havent seen mackerel at the store. Never had mackerel so a little unsure about it.

[spughy]

No. Tuna are long-lived predators high on the food chain (eating fish that themselves eat fish) and therefore at greater risk for bioaccumulation of mercury. Salmon are short-lived (4 years, max) and the largest fish they eat are teeny anchovy-sized things. Pinks, I think, eat mainly krill-type stuff and spawn after 2 years, so are a minimal mercury risk.

[driftpin]

Bigger the fish,the longer they live, the greater chance of higher mercury.I shop further down the food chain.
Albacore and blue fin tuna get huge, smaller varieties are generally considered safe.
Salmon is a good option, sardines even better.

[Stu]

Awesome thank you. The other plus about salmon is its lot easier to find one that does not have soy added. All the canned tuna at my local grocery stores have added soy.

[QuirkyPixy]

I remember reading somewhere that the selenium in fish makes the mercury a non-issue. Wish I could find the source!

[cillakat]

Is mercury as large of a concern with canned pink salmon as it is with canned tuna?

I know everyone has said that anchovies and mackerel are good options besides tuna, but I do not like anchovies and havent seen mackerel at the store. Never had mackerel so a little unsure about it.

Mercury is a non-issue with most fish--especially if they are high in selenium like QP mentioned. I think I have a fish document in my links below that covers it. If you can't access the docs, follow the links and click 'request access' and I'll add you.


K

[AndreaReina]

Check out http://chetday.com/mercurymineralfish.htm for some info on the mercury/selenium issue. Basically unless you're eating pilot whale you're good since the other fish have more than enough selenium to bind with the mercury and make it inert.

[confused_monkey]

How about oxidized cholesterol in canned fish? Is that a concern?