Trading Off Fish Health and Safety: Female Decision‐Making Processes toward the Risk of Methylmercury in Fish

This study takes a qualitative, point-in-time look at 26 females' decision-making processes toward trading off the risks of mercury and the health benefits of a seafood diet. The data revealed five different decision-making processes, with 17 of the 26 participants indicating their fish consumption patterns did not change. Of the nine who changed their fish consumption in some way, six specifically reduced the amount of tuna they ate. Similarly, participants who were most at risk--women of childbearing age and those with young children--expressed fish consumption changes more frequently than others, especially in the amount of tuna they consumed. ********** Fish and shellfish are considered an important part of a healthy diet. The oils in fatty fish contain particular omega-3 fatty acids not found naturally in other foods, contributing to heart health, optimal brain function and cognition, improved eye and skin health, and protection against certain cancers (Din, Newby, and Flapan 2004; Mozaffarian and Rimm 2006; Uauy and Dangour 2006). However, some sources of fish contain environmental contaminants such as methylmercury (MeHg) and polychlorinated biphenyls. Research has shown that high levels of mercury can accumulate in the bodies of fish eaters and can harm the developing nervous system of fetuses and young children (Castoldi, Coccini, and Manzo 2003; Davidson, Myers, and Weiss 2004). In 2004, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a joint consumer advisory about mercury in fish and shellfish. The advisory was targeted toward woman of childbearing age, pregnant women, nursing women, and young children. They advised that these women eat up to 12 oz (about 335 g) per week of fish and shellfish that contain low levels of mercury (FDA 2004). This joint advisory supersedes FDA's and EPA's individual agency 2001 advisories. Although research is under way to better understand the human exposure to mercury content in fish and the risks of contaminants are being communicated to consumers (Anderson et al. 2004; Institute of Medicine 2006), little work has been done to understand how consumers are using this information to trade off a healthy and beneficial protein source with the risks of mercury. This study takes a qualitative in-depth look at women's decision-making processes toward trading off seafood health and safety. Insights into these processes will help in understanding consumer response to this national advisory and may guide those developing survey questions for a regional or national quantitative survey of consumers. LITERATURE REVIEW Research has shown fish to be beneficial in reducing inflammation, protect against certain chronic diseases such as coronary heart disease (Mozaffarian and Rimm 2006) and arthritis (Cleland, James, and Proudman 2003), and are important for healthy brain development (Hibbeln et al. 2007; Uauy and Dangour 2006). Given these significant health effects, the American Heart Association and the American Diabetes Association recommend individuals consume at least two servings of fish per week. One serving equals 3 oz (about 90g) cooked or 4 oz (about 120g) raw weight (American Heart Association 2007; Franz 2003). Certain types of fish (those that have more oil, like salmon, compared to leaner fish like cod) are also good sources of omega-3 (n-3) fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids are considered essential to human health but cannot be produced by the body. These fatty acids have been linked with optimal brain function and cognition and improved eye and skin health (Nettleton 1995; Akabas and Deckelbaum 2006). Despite these benefits, nearly all fish and shellfish contain at least some MeHg, and it is distributed in all tissues (Davidson, Myers, and Weiss 2004). As humans consume fish and shellfish, they are exposed to varying amounts of MeHg; there are no food preparations or cooking methods that can remove or reduce the amount of MeHg consumed (Mahaffey, Clickner, and Bodurow 2004). …