Fishing for Danger

New York Post, Barbara Hoffman
Published April 16, 2001

Seafood may be more hazardous than expected - at least if you're pregnant. The Environmental Working Group and U.S. Public Interest Research Group recently rapped the Food and Drug Administration for singling out shark, swordfish, king mackerel and tilefish for mercury exposure. Pregnant women, they say, should not only avoid those four but also tuna steaks, sea bass, Gulf Coast oysters, marlin, halibut, pike and white croaker. Last month, the Centers for Disease Control reported that 10 percent of women of childbearing age already had high mercury levels - a condition that poses health risks to the developing brains and nervous systems of unborn babies. So what's safe? The groups gave a thumbs up to farm-raised trout and catfish, shrimp, summer flounder, wild Pacific salmon, haddock - and fish sticks.