They ordered the fish to be removed from the supermarket because of the very high mercury levels.

He Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) of the European Union recently reported the discovery of excessively high levels Mercury in some steaks swordfish Vacuum packed and exported from Spain.

The voice alarm was activated from safety check carried out in Italy. The Italian authorities notified RASFF, who notified those responsible for the production chain to have all remaining product destroyed. Presumably, according to RASFF’s own report, there are no more affected fillets left and no one has actually consumed them.

These types of warnings demonstrate that in reality quality control in the food industry done correctly. The swordfish fillets made it to retail outlets, but no one seemed to be eating them. This is important because mercury is a very dangerous contaminant commonly found in fish. Especially in species like swordfish.

Why is mercury in fish so dangerous?

Mercury occurs naturally in aquatic ecosystemstherefore, almost all fish contain it. From there it can be transmitted to humans through the consumption of fish, and the worst thing is that its risks are quite low.

In children and even adolescents, this affects brain development at minimal levels. This, logically, also extrapolates to pregnant. The latter should avoid eating fish that typically contain the most mercury, such as tuna or swordfish. The same goes for infants or children under one year of ageSome pediatricians note that it can be used from this age. sporadically. Later, from 10 to 14 years old, Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (AESAN) recommends not to exceed 120 grams per month. For low mercury fish 3 or 4 servings per weekbut always with caution.

As for adults, the doses at which it is toxic to the nervous system are somewhat higher. Therefore, you can consume something more, but not exceed the norm. three servings per week.

All this is taking into account that the fish does not exceed the maximum permissible dose of mercury. This is located in 1 gram of mercury per 100 grams from fish meat. The swordfish that was just issued with a warning weighed 1.8 grams, so the risk is considered serious.

Why is swordfish especially dangerous?

Humans, like other animals, have organs that are responsible for eliminating substances that may be toxic to the body. This is what happens to the kidneys and liver. However, there are substances that cannot be eliminated, such as some heavy metalsamong which is mercury. If not eliminated, the effect known as bioaccumulation, This is why mercury in the body becomes more and more intense over time.

This means that the oldest fish They contain the most mercury for the simple reason that they live and bioaccumulate more. On the other hand, big fish They also absorb and accumulate more mercury.

As a result large and long-lived fish They accumulate large amounts of mercury in their bodies. The lifespan of fish is difficult to estimate, as they often fall prey to predators before becoming ill. However, there are some estimates.

Swordfish are large and typically live for about 15 years, which is much longer than other fish such as sardines or hake that do not live beyond 10 yearsEven tuna live shorter lives, averaging 12 years, but their large size means they accumulate a lot of mercury.

All this is taken into account by food safety authorities. As consumers, we must be attentive but also calm, because it seems that the tests, although sometimes a little late, generally come on time when there is something to warn about.