Fish Advisories
Information for Women and Children Under 14
DHEC has special advice for the following groups:
women who are pregnant
women who plan to become pregnant soon
nursing mothers
children under 14
These groups should not eat ANY fish containing mercury. A fish with any advisory (one meal per week, one meal per month, or DO NOT EAT ANY) contains mercury and should not be eaten by these groups. For more information on mercury, please visit DHEC's Making Sense of Mercury web page.
Infants and children are particularly sensitive to the effects of mercury since their brains and nerves are still forming. This advice from DHEC is meant to protect these sensitive groups.
A national advisory, issued in March 2004 by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA), says that women who are pregnant, may become pregnant, or are nursing, and children under 14 should only eat one meal of freshwater fish each week. This advisory also says that they should not eat any king mackerel, shark, swordfish or tilefish. To find out more on the national advisory, visit EPA's website or FDA's web site. You can also call FDA, toll-free, at 1-888-SAFEFOOD for more information.
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