Fish: For little ones, it's anything but brain food

SMALL children who eat more than one serving a fortnight of certain types of fish are at risk of developing severe learning and behavioural difficulties that could lead to autism, doctors warned yesterday.

A study has found that children under the age of six who regularly eat large, predatory fish, such as shark (which is sold as flake), catfish, snapper or barramundi often have mercury levels up to seven times the safe maximum, which can lead to aggressive and regressive behaviour.

The author of the study, Associate Professor Stephen Corbett, said yesterday that parents needed to remember that, while most types of fish were beneficial in a child's diet if eaten two to three times a week, and could prevent such disorders as anaemia, some were dangerous.

The rule of thumb was "small fish for the small fry", said Professor Corbett, a director of the Centre for Population Health.

In his study, published in The Medical Journal of Australia today, Professor Corbett reported on three Chinese children living in Sydney who had mercury levels up to seven times the maximum safe level. The children, who had all been weaned on fish congee, a type of porridge, had eaten fish up to eight times a week and were being treated for developmental delays or neurological problems.

One, a two-year-old boy being treated for aggressive behaviour, ate salmon, barramundi or snapper at least five times a week and had a mercury level three times the safe level. His father had also been diagnosed with mercury poisoning after complaining of rashes, abdominal pain and diarrhoea.

The second child, a three-year-old boy, had delayed speech development and some autistic behaviour. He had eaten barramundi, sea perch, salmon and rock cod up to eight times a week and had a blood mercury level seven times the safe level.

Within two weeks of removing fish from his diet, this mercury level had dropped to double what it should have been.

The third child, a 15-month-old boy, had eaten ling and salmon about five times a week and had a mercury level three times the safe level.

Professor Corbett said giving babies fish when they were being weaned had health benefits, but congee, if made from large fish species, could exceed the tolerable weekly intake for children.

He said advice about fish consumption needed to be provided in languages other than English to help Asian families understand the dangers.

The chief scientist at the NSW Food Authority, Lisa Szabo, said yesterday that fish high in mercury included flake, swordfish, catfish, marlin, broadbill and orange roughy. Those low in mercury included bream, rainbow trout, ocean trout, flathead, kingfish, whiting, tuna and salmon.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/for-little-ones-its-anything-but-brain-food/2008/01/06/1199554485301.html
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These are of course Australian guidelines and so people will want to look at their own state public health divisions warnings and recommendations.

DHS Environmental Toxicology Program

e.g. Fish Advisories: Consumption Guidelines

http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/ph/envtox/fishconsumption.shtml

What about Japan? Their seafood consumption is among the highest in the world, isn't it? Should be some good data to collect there.

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