Apparently the City of New York is abuzz, and not happily, since a Times investigation showed toxic levels of mercury in sushi. Not the hamachi! Please, not the hamachi or the spicy tuna roll! Oy!
According to the report, sushi from 5 of the 20 places they tested had mercury levels so high that the Food and Drug Administration could take legal action to remove the fish from the market. Six pieces a week would exceed EPA safe levels.
This probably shouldn’t surprise anyone. The Environmental Working Group has for years been warning people about high levels of methylmercury in fish, particularly tuna. Many different environmental groups have offered safe-fish lists, like this one, and tuna is always, always at the “highly contaminated” end of things. I guess it just hurts. Because I happen to really like sushi.
(Back in our younger, trimmer-hipped days, Jenn and I used to fantasize about what it would like to be “discovered,” to become the next Minnie, or Winona, or Cate. We didn’t want the fame, and we weren’t even thinking about the money. We were just thinking about how the studios might pay for us to go to a spa to slim down, pre-filming, and we could eat nothing — nothing! — but sushi for weeks).
So, yeah. I like the fish. I really like the fish. And it hurts my heart to think that something I love so much could contain a toxic byproduct of industrial waste that apparently causes neurological damage to developing fetuses and adults alike. And — oh, hey! look! — it apparently damages our immune systems, as well.
But that’s the deal-io (”deal-io.” I’ve gone from Snoop Dogg to Ned Flanders in one post flat).
Methylmercury is all over the planet, and a big reason for that is industrial pollution. It used to be released in the making of chlorine and mining. These days, the problem is more coal combustion and incineration of consumer-products like batteries, thermometers, and fluorescent lights (so, please…dispose of those things properly, and fight for clean energy. Please. Because I like the fish). Once released into the environment, methylmercury sticks to algae, which absorb the molecules. The algae are eaten by tiny aquatic grazers. The grazers are eaten by small fish, which in turn are eaten by larger fish. Methylmerecury binds with tissues and accumulates in animals as it continues up the foodchain…which is why large predator fish, like bluefin tuna, are the most contaminated.
Yes, yellowtail tuna (hamachi) is better than bluefin (maguro). But you’re actually best off with small fish, that haven’t bio-accumlated all those toxins.
Like…sardines. Yes, sardines. A number of sushi restaurants have embraced sardines (they’re apparently not even that fishy-smelling when they’re raw). And you should probably embrace them in your own kitchen; they’re are an eco-best list, they’re filled with omega-3s and other good stuff, and they can replace tuna in recipes like this highly rated tonnado spread, from Epicurious. This Atlantic article says of sardines that “it’s time to rediscover and embrace an indispensable staple.”
But sushi? What about regular sushi? What about my nigiri? My maki? My oshi, and my chirashi? The NRDC lists the following as best-and-worst choices when you’re gettin’ your sushi on. A few of my favorites are on the good list - unagi and sake and ikura. Some of the others…well…let’s just say that my heart is a little broken today.
LOWER MERCURY
Akagai (ark shell) 1
Anago (conger eel) 1
Aoyagi (round clam)
Awabi (abalone) 1
Ayu (sweetfish)
Ebi (shrimp)*
Hamaguri (clam)
Hamo (pike conger; sea eel) 1
Hatahata (sandfish)
Himo (ark shell) 1
Hokkigai (surf clam)
Hotategai (scallop)*
Ika (squid)
Ikura (salmon roe)
Kaibashira (shellfish)
Kani (crab)
Karei (flatfish)
Kohada (gizzard shad)
Masago (smelt egg)
Masu (trout)
Mirugai (surf clam)
Sake (salmon)
Sayori (halfbeak) 1
Shako (mantis shrimp)
Tai (sea bream) 1
Tairagai (razor-shell clam) 1
Tako (octopus)
Tobikko (flying fish egg)
Torigai (cockle)
Tsubugai (shellfish)
Unagi (freshwater eel) 1
Uni (sea urchin roe)
HIGH MERCURY
Ahi (yellowfin tuna)
Aji (horse mackerel) 1
Buri (adult yellowtail) 1
Hamachi (young yellowtail) 1
Inada (very young yellowtail) 1
Kanpachi (very young yellowtail) 1
Katsuo (bonito) 1
Kajiki (swordfish)*
Maguro (bigeye*, bluefin* or yellowfin tuna)
Makjiki (blue marlin)*
Meji (young bigeye*, bluefin* or yellowfin tuna)
Saba (mackerel)
Sawara (Spanish mackerel)
Seigo (young sea bass)*
Shiro (albacore tuna)
Suzuki (sea bass)*
Toro (bigeye*, bluefin* or yellowfin tuna)
* Fish in Trouble! These fish are perilously low in numbers or are caught using environmentally destructive methods. To learn more, see the Monterey Bay Aquarium and the Blue Ocean Institute, both of which provide guides to fish to enjoy or avoid on the basis of environmental factors.
1. Mercury levels specific to these fish were not available and instead were extrapolated from fish with similar feeding patterns.
