Joint FAO/WHO Expert Consultation on the Risks and Benefits of Fish Consumption
Authors: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and World Health Organization
Journal: FAO/WHO Expert Consultation, September 2011
Summary: The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Health Organization (WHO) held an Expert Consultation to discuss the risks and benefits of fish intake. The 17-expert panel reviewed nearly 150 studies and articles about the nutrient, mercury and PCB levels in various fish species and the health effects of eating fish for the general population, pregnant women and fetuses, infants and young children. The Expert Consultation concluded that eating seafoodparticularly oily fishreduces the risk of heart disease in the general adult population. They concluded that eating fish during pregnancy reduces the risk of suboptimal brain development in babies. The group also recommended that risks to heart and brain health when people avoid fish be emphasized when creating dietary recommendations and communication strategies about seafood.