I only eat (rarely) shrimp and herring, but recently have wondered if the heavy metals found in them make it all around unsafe.
Furthermore, does organic farming reduce these levels? Considering the animals would not be in contact with the polluted ocean? Or is it all the same.
The heavy metal content of fish varies by species and location. In general, the lower on the food chain, the less heavy metal. If you are in a coastal state in the US, your state may publish a list of local fish and a guide for how often it is safe to consume each one. I have seen these charts posted in some state parks in NJ.
Saltwater fish farms may be in the same ocean waters as wild caught fish but in fenced off areas that are more crowded and polluted. I have read scientific articles on the differences in quality of wild versus farmed, and usually, but not always, the wild fish are superior. I don’t have any references but this should be an easy search online. I always buy wild caught fish if I can afford it. The only people I ever heard touting the equivalence of wild versus farmed were in the grocery business and sold lots of farmed fish.
I live around coastal area, sea food is my staple diet here and so is my family generation been eating sea food sinces ages now.Also I happen to be living around the fisher folk community who are experts in their field be it ethical fishing, flora and fauna protection around the coast and their cooking methods which are passed down from generations.I have been told and taught by them on how important it is to use coriander leaves while cooking sea food. And the amount of coriander leaves that goes in is not just handful but almost 1cup to a big bundle for 1kg of fish. It not only adds great taste but also removes harmful metals from the body thanks to its chelating properties.
> Due to the study limitations, these results should be interpreted as preliminary. Further research to additionally validate our results is recommended.
I think it’s quite difficult to parse out real-world effects. So far it looks like not much seafood is that dangerous in terms of heavy metals. However I’d imagine that there’s a positive feedback loop with most of our waste running off the oceans eventually. So my opinion is that it’s only going to get worse.
There’s not doubt that seafood may contain higher level of heavy metal - especially deep sea fishes - but since its not eaten everyday as breakfast, lunch and dinner - some of these toxicity can be manage by the body and excrete in stool, urine, and sweat.