- Type
- Contaminant (heavy metal)
- How serious
- High severity
- Evidence
- Strong evidence
Why it is flagged
Crosses the placenta and harms the developing brain, so Health Canada caps predatory fish for pregnant women and children and limits mercury in retail fish to 0.5 mg/kg.
Health topics it bears on
Sources
- Health Canada's Maximum Levels for Chemical Contaminants in Foods Health Canada, 2026
- Mercury in Fish Health Canada, 2024
- Mercury and Human Health Health Canada, 2021
- Scientific Opinion on the risk for public health related to the presence of mercury and methylmercury in food European Food Safety Authority, 2012
Also listed as
methyl mercury, mercury, méthylmercure, mercure, metilmercurio, mercurio, quecksilber, methylquecksilber