Which food is a potential source of foodborne illness due to mercury contamination?

Elemental Mercury and most of its compounds are extremely toxic.

Practically all foods and drugs containing significant amounts of mercury were banned in most countries before 1999.

Some fish and shellfish with a high trophic level can have roughly 1 part per million of mercury, far higher than any plants or land animals.

The US FDA seems to think that the benefits of eating fish outweigh the risks from such tiny amounts of mercury for everyone except young children and women of child-bearing age.

Other common items that contain mercury are:

* dental amalgams

* some vaccines preserved in thiomersal (also spelled thimerosal)

* some cosmetics that contain thiomersal (also spelled thimerosal)

* mercury thermometers

* fluorescent bulbs