I'LL JUST SWITCH TO FISH XVIII

The Chicago Tribune has blown the mercury-contamination story wide open with a multipart series based on an in-depth investigation of several types of fish. Here's the lede to "Toxic risk on your plate":

In one of the nation's most comprehensive studies of mercury in commercial fish, testing by the newspaper showed that a variety of popular seafood was so tainted that federal regulators could confiscate the fish for violating food safety rules.

The testing also showed that mercury is more pervasive in fish than what the government has told the public, making it difficult for consumers to avoid the problem, no matter where they shop.

And the main story continues: "The Tribune's investigation reveals a decades-long pattern of the U.S. government knowingly allowing millions of Americans to eat seafood with unsafe levels of mercury."

In another story, "U.S. safety net in tatters," the Tribune lays the problem directly at the feet of industry cronyism (that sound familiar?): "Seafood shoppers are at risk for mercury exposure as regulators ignore their own experts, issue flawed warnings and set policies aiding industry."

You can read the whole thing here. Or you can simply take all the warnings those of us who have already been advising against the "nutritional bargain" of fish, and triple them.