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Seafood and Health
How Much Seafood Should You Eat
–and Which Kinds?
In this section
Canada's Food Guide advises Canadians to eat at least two Food Guide Servings (150 grams) of fish every week, especially the kinds that are highest in omega-3 fats such as char, herring, mackerel, salmon, sardines and trout. These recommendations are consistent with advice from experts around the world.
Health Canada also provides advice for limiting exposure to mercury from certain types of fish. This advice is updated regularly based on ongoing research into what species are available to Canadians and risk assessments based on Canadians' potential exposure to mercury through foods.
It is possible to balance benefits and risks associated with seafood consumption to obtain the nutritional and health benefits, by following:
- The advice in Canada's Food Guide
- Advisories for specific at-risk groups (women who are or may become pregnant or who are breastfeeding, and children) as well as for the general public
- Provincial or territorial advisories for fish caught recreationally
- Safe food handling techniques.
Health professionals have a key role to play in communicating to Canadians both the health benefits and the advice for at-risk groups to limit their consumption of certain species.
How Much Seafood to Eat
Health
Canada's advice as shown in Canada's
Food Guide is to enjoy a variety of foods from the four
food groups. Canada's Food Guide advises Canadians on the quantity
and quality of food choices to meet their nutrient
needs and reduce their risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease,
certain types of cancer and osteoporosis.
Each food group includes recommendations for the quality of food choices to make. For the Meat and Alternatives food group, one of these recommendations is to eat at least two Food Guide Servings of fish each week, and to choose fish such as char, herring, mackerel, salmon, sardines and trout, the kinds that are highest in omega-3 fats.
| One Food Guide Serving | Recommended Weekly Intake - at least 2 Food Guide Servings |
|---|---|
| 75 grams | 150 grams |
| 2.5 ounces | 5 ounces |
| 125 mL | 250 mL |
| 1/2 cup | 1 cup |
Each Food Guide Serving is 75 grams, so Canadians should aim to eat at least 150 grams of fish each week. Using a few simple examples, here's an illustration of how different people can divide their Food Guide Servings over the week:
- An adult could have one meal with poached fish (150 grams).
- A 16-year-old could have a salmon sandwich (75 grams of salmon) and one meal with poached fish (75 grams) over the week.
- A 3-year-old could have half a salmon sandwich (30 grams of salmon), a meal with poached fish (45 grams), a snack with light tuna on crackers (30 grams of tuna), and a meal with baked fish (45 grams) over the week.
To learn more:
- Canada's Food Guide www.healthcanada.gc.ca/foodguide
- Tips on how to meet the Food Guide recommendations for fish
- Health Canada: "Fish Consumption: Review and Recommendation of Current Intake Figures for Canadian Consumers." Health Canada, Bureau of Chemical Safety, 2004. (Appendix IV of the Health Canada report, Human Health Risk Assessment of Mercury in Fish and Health Benefits of Fish Consumption, 2007.) www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/pubs/mercur/merc_fish_poisson_e.html#appd
Which Kinds of Seafood to Choose More Often
Canada's Food Guide encourages variety within each food group, so people would be wise to choose different varieties of seafood for the different types of nutrients they provide.
Seafood
is an excellent source of high quality protein and most types are low
in saturated fat. Almost all types of seafood are a significant source
of vitamin D and seafood contributes valuable mineral nutrients to the
diet such as selenium, iron, zinc, magnesium, potassium, copper and
iodine.
All seafood contains at least some of the long-chain omega-3 fats, called EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid). People should get these fats through food because very little is produced by our bodies. Some types of seafood have higher levels of these beneficial fats than others. Types that are higher in EPA and DHA and also are low in mercury are shown in the chart below.
| Fish | Shellfish | Crustaceans |
|---|---|---|
| Anchovy Capelin Char Flatfish (flounder, sole, plaice) Hake Herring Lake whitefish Mackerel Monkfish Pollock Rainbow trout Salmon Sardines Smelt Turbot, Greenland |
Mussels Oysters |
Crab Shrimp |
Adapted from: "What are the nutritional benefits of fish?" Mercury in Fish-Questions and Answers, Health Canada, 2007 www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/securit/chem-chim/environ/mercur/merc_fish_qa-poisson_qr_e.html#hb2
Note: Species listed are ones that are commonly available in Canada and contain at least 0.3 grams of omega-3 fats per 100 grams cooked product based on data from the Canadian Nutrient File, 2007b and are low in mercury based on data reported in Health Canada's Human Health Risk Assessment of Mercury in Fish and Health Benefits of Fish Consumption (Appendix I) and more recent data supplied by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
Use
low fat preparation methods
Deep-fried fish or fast food fish sandwiches do not offer the same heart
health benefits as fish prepared using lower fat methods. To get the greatest
health benefits, people should cook fish using lower fat preparation methods
such as grilling, poaching, broiling or baking. Canada's
Food Guide encourages people to select lean meat and alternatives prepared
with little or no added fat or salt.
To learn more:
- The Fish Market in Canada (includes nutrition information on more than 40 types of seafood commonly available in Canada, and links to factsheets that provide more information about some of the species)
Which Kinds of Seafood to Choose Less Often
To make wise seafood choices, consumers need to be aware of issues that have the potential to affect their health negatively. Depending on their personal situation, these issues could include chemical contaminants, eating raw seafood or eating fish caught recreationally.
What about Chemical Contaminants?
Health Canada monitors the levels of chemical contaminants in food, sets standards for limits of these contaminants, and issues consumption advice when needed to ensure Canadians' safety.
- For most seafood species the levels of chemical contaminants very low-well below the standards established by Health Canada.
- Mercury in fish could pose a potential risk to human health-some types
of fish, if eaten too frequently, could result in exposure to an unacceptable
amount of mercury.
- Most Canadians don't need to be concerned about mercury exposure as a result of fish consumption. In general, the levels of mercury in the types of fish that are most popular in Canada are very low-far below the standards set by Health Canada.
- Predatory fish that eat a lot of other fish for food tend to contain higher levels of mercury. This is because fish can accumulate trace amounts of mercury in their muscles, mostly from the prey that they eat, and this mercury can concentrate up the food chain. Health Canada has identified certain types of fish that should be eaten in moderation. These include fresh or frozen tuna, shark, swordfish, marlin, orange roughy and escolar, as well as canned albacore tuna.
Health Canada's Consumption Advice
Health Canada has issued consumption advice for the types of fish that contain higher levels of mercury. The following advice will help people to maximize the nutritional benefits of eating fish while minimizing the risks associated with exposure to mercury.
This advice may be updated as new information becomes available.
You can check for the most recent advice at www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/securit/chem-chim/environ/mercur/index_e.html or by calling 1-800-O-Canada (1-800-622-6232).
- Children, pregnant and breastfeeding women, and women who may become pregnant can particularly benefit from the nutrients offered by seafood. However, because the developing fetus and young children are also most at risk from mercury exposure, it's important that pregnant and breastfeeding women, women who may become pregnant and parents of young children are aware of what types of fish are a good choice for frequent consumption and which should be eaten less often. They should limit their consumption to the amounts shown in the table below.
- Canadians who like to consume the types of fish included in the table below can continue to do so, but should limit their consumption to the amounts shown in this table.
- Other types of fish should be chosen to make up the rest of their recommended weekly intake of at least two Food Guide Servings (150 grams).
Here is a summary of Health Canada's advice for limiting intake of mercury from certain types of fish. It's important to note that there's no need to restrict fish consumption beyond what is recommended in the advisory.
| Who? | Consumption advice for each group |
|---|---|
| General population | Can eat up to 150 grams each week of these fish (2 Food Guide Servings per week) |
| Women who are pregnant Women who may become pregnant Breastfeeding mothers |
Can eat up to 150 grams in a month of these fish
(2 Food Guide Servings per month) |
| Children between 5 and 11 years old | Can eat up to 125 grams in a month of these fish |
| Children between 1 and 4 years old | Can eat up to 75 grams in a month of these fish |
What about canned tuna?
Most Canadians don't need to be concerned about consuming canned tuna. The fish used in canned tuna products are generally younger and smaller and thus contain significantly less mercury than the relatively larger and older types of tuna that are sold in fresh or frozen portions.
- No consumption limits have been set for canned light tuna (the most commonly eaten type of tuna, consisting of smaller species of fish).
- However, as a precautionary measure, Health Canada provides advice for at-risk groups to limit their intake of mercury from canned alabacore (white) tuna. Albacore tuna is a larger species of fish that generally has mercury levels below Health Canada's standards but accumulates more mercury than the types used in canned light tuna.
| Who? | Consumption advice for each group |
|---|---|
| General population | no limit; eat a variety of seafood types |
| Women who are pregnant Women who may become pregnant Breastfeeding mothers |
Can eat up to four Food Guide Servings of canned albacore tuna each
week =300 grams or 2 cups per week or about two 170-gram cans of albacore tuna per week |
| Children between 5 and 11 years old | Can eat up to two Food Guide Servings of canned albacore tuna each
week =150 grams or 1 cup per week or about one 170-gram can per week |
| Children between 1 and 4 years old | Can eat up to one Food Guide Serving of canned albacore tuna each
week =75 grams or 1/2 cup per week or about half of a 170-gram can per week |
| People for whom canned tuna is a major protein source | Can eat up to 10 Food Guide servings of canned albacore tuna each
week, as long as they are not eating any of the predatory fish listed
in the Health Canada advice (fresh/frozen tuna, shark, swordfish,
marlin, orange roughy and escolar) = 750 grams or 5 cups per week or about six 170-gram cans per week |
This consumption advice is based on Health Canada's updated standards for mercury in fish.
What about Eating Raw Seafood?
Some people should not eat raw or partially cooked seafood because they
are at greater risk of foodborne illness. These groups include pregnant
women, young children, older adults, people whose immune systems are
weakened, and people who have decreased stomach acidity.
What About Eating Sport Fish?
People who consume fish caught recreationally in local bodies of water should consult their provincial or territorial government for information about eating sport fish. Links to provincial and territorial fish consumption advisories are available from the Environment Canada website (www.ec.gc.ca/mercury/en/fc.cfm).
To learn more:
On this website
- Summary of Health Canada's advice on seafood consumption for Canadians
- What Are the Health Benefits of Eating Seafood?
- What About Seafood Safety? (includes more information on safety issues, including consumers' role in food safety, and what the government is doing to keep our food supply safe)
- What about raw seafood? (food safety section)
Other resources
- Health Canada's consumption advice and mercury advisory
www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/securit/chem-chim/environ/mercur/index_e.html
www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/securit/chem-chim/environ/mercur/cons-adv-etud_e.html
www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ahc-asc/media/advisories-avis/_2007/2007_31_e.html
www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ahc-asc/media/advisories-avis/_2007/2007_14_e.html - Health Canada's updated standards for mercury
www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ahc-asc/media/advisories-avis/_2007/2007_31_e.html
www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/securit/chem-chim/contaminants-guidelines-directives_e.html - Canada's Food Guide www.healthcanada.gc.ca/foodguide
- Escolar
- "Facts on Escolar", Canadian Food Inspection Agency, May 2007
www.inspection.gc.ca/english/fssa/concen/specif/escoe.shtml
- "Escolar and Adverse Reactions", Health Canada
www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/securit/chem-chim/toxin-natur/index_e.html
*PDF Format, requires Adobe Acrobat Reader
Tips on How to Meet the Food Guide Recommendations for Fish (*PDF)
Eat at least two Food Guide Servings (150 grams) of fish each week wherever you are - at home, at school, at work or when eating out!
Although
no single food alone can make a person healthy, eating more seafood
is one way that most of us can help improve our diets-and our health.
Adding more fish and other seafood to your diet is easy. Start slowly
by substituting seafood for another type of meal each week. Once that
becomes routine, increase to two seafood meals per week.
- Plan your meals ahead of time to make sure you have at least two Food Guide Servings of fish each week. Each Food Guide Serving of cooked seafood is 75 grams, 2 ½ ounces or ½ cup. So aim to have at least 150 grams (5 ounces or 1 cup) of seafood each week.
- Buy fresh or frozen fish such as cod, haddock, salmon or sole that has not been breaded, battered or deep-fried.
- Wrap a fish fillet along with vegetables and herbs in parchment paper or aluminum foil and bake in the oven. Cook for 10 minutes per inch (2.5 cm) of thickness.
- Have a few cans of tuna and salmon on hand for quick lunch or supper ideas. Pack a tuna or salmon salad sandwich for lunch at school or work. Whip up a tuna noodle casserole for a quick supper.
- Snack on seafood... try tuna or sardines on crackers or toast.
- Use leftover fish or canned fish to make mini patties or croquettes, and serve with a dip made from low fat sour cream and chives.
- Try marinating and grilling fish "steaks" such as halibut or salmon for a change of pace. Grilled fish kabobs are also a possibility with firm-fleshed fish.
- Add canned salmon or tuna to pasta dishes or salads. For lower sodium and fat, purchase water-packed varieties rather than those packed in oil, look for reduced salt varieties, and rinse them well.
- Try a salmon or tuna "burger night" for a fresh flavour. Use fresh fish steaks to form patties to grill or broil. Canned tuna or salmon can also be used for burgers or fish "loaf."
- Try fish in your favorite poultry recipes.
- When dining out, order the catch of the day. Choose fish seasoned with herbs and lemon rather than a rich sauce. Go for fish that is broiled, poached, grilled or baked, rather than breaded or deep-fried.
Summary of Health Canada's Advice on Seafood Consumption for Canadians
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|
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Contaminants in seafood and safety of shellfish vary according to local conditions.
- Consume locally caught seafood only if safe after checking with provincial/territorial fish consumption advisories (see the Environment Canada web site at www.ec.gc.ca/mercury/en/fc.cfm).
- Harvest shellfish only in safe areas. Check with the nearest Fisheries and Oceans Canada office, listed in the blue pages of your local phone book.
Adapted
to reflect Canadian advice, from: Nesheim MC, Yaktine AL (eds.): Seafood
Choices: Balancing Benefits and Risks. Committee on Nutrient Relationships
in Seafood Selections to Balance Benefits and Risks, Institute of Medicine,
Food and Nutrition Board. Washington DC: National Academies Press, 2007
(www.nap.edu/catalog/11762.html),
Figure 5-2, page 212
*Note: The Canada's Food Guide advice applies to children aged 2 to 4 years, whereas the Health Canada fish advisory applies to children aged 1 to 4 years.
