Concentrations of Mercury and Several Organic Chemicals in Four Species of Lake Superior Fish

Abstract

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as well as State agencies use regulatory authority to address the issue of environmental contaminants in commercially-marketed fish and fish products. The U.S. FDA has environmental contaminant restriction guidelines for many types of food including fish. In 1995, the U.S. FDA implemented a new law (i.e., Seafood Safety Act) to ensure the physical, biological, and chemical safety of the commercially-marketed (i.e., edible portion) fish and fish products. This law requires a quality assurance program to be implemented by all primary and secondary fish producers called Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP). The HACCP program requires documenting the proper implementation of critical fish processing steps during which a product may become unsafe for human consumption due to physical, biological, or chemical hazards. For example, fish products processed with machines need to pass through a metal detector to ensure no physical hazards (i.e., bolts, screws) entered the product. Biological hazards refer to bacteria and bacterial toxins that could enter a fish product if not stored (e.g., frozen or refrigerated) or handled (e.g., good sanitary procedures) properly. Chemical hazards refers to both chemicals that may unintentionally enter the product during processing (e.g., sanitizing solution) and environmental contaminants from industrial pollution that enter the fish while it is living in the aquatic environment.