Mercury in Malaysian fish and seafood, and who eats most
What it found
Mercury levels in 67 fish and seafood species from Peninsular Malaysia stayed within national and international limits.
For most people, estimated weekly mercury intake was below the recommended tolerable level, but it went above that level for the heaviest consumers.
What they found
Studies in people
Who ate the most
People over 40 ate more fish than younger people, with the elderly eating the most at 104.0 g/day. Malay participants ate more fish and seafood (96.1 g/day) than Chinese and Indian participants, and men ate more (95.2 g/day) than women (86 g/day).
Teen seafood choices
Adolescents aged 10 to 17 ate about half the marine fish of older people, but more than double the cephalopods (80.0 g/day) and crustaceans (63.0 g/day).
Weekly mercury intake
For most demographic groups, estimated weekly mercury intake was below the tolerable level of 1.6 µg/kg body weight per week. For the heaviest consumers at the 75th percentile and above, it went above that level.
Risk measure for teens and elderly
The hazard quotient for overall fish and seafood consumption was above one for adolescents and the elderly, which the authors say indicates a nonacceptable level of noncarcinogenic health effects. For other groups it was below one.
Other findings
Mercury levels in seafood
Mercury levels in 67 species ranged from 0.013 to 0.252 mg/kg wet weight. None of the fish and seafood groups went above the national or international guideline of 0.5 mg/kg.
Which seafood had most
Demersal fish had the highest median mercury at 0.1006 mg/kg wet weight, followed by pelagic fish at 0.0686, freshwater fish at 0.045, cephalopods at 0.0405 and crustaceans at 0.0356.
What the authors conclude
“The median concentrations of meHg in fish and seafood from Peninsular Malaysia were within the permissible limits by both national and international guidelines.”
Also in their conclusions
- They say mercury levels in fish and seafood from Peninsular Malaysia were within national and international limits, and that average consumers face no important hazard.
- They advise that risk is significantly higher for high consumers, and that demersal fish should be under frequent surveillance.
- They suggest regular fish consumers be cautious with seafood higher in mercury, particularly young children and the elderly, and call for monitoring mercury in blood and hair.
How it was done
Fish is the main way people are exposed to mercury, and Malaysians eat a lot of fish. The authors wanted to check mercury levels in fish and seafood sold in Peninsular Malaysia and estimate the health risk for different groups.
They measured mercury in 394 fish and seafood samples from landing ports and wholesale markets across Peninsular Malaysia. They also surveyed 2,675 adults and 484 adolescents about how much fish and seafood they ate, using 3-day food diaries.
What it can’t tell you
- The study estimated mercury intake from survey answers about diet, so it cannot prove that eating this fish actually caused any health effects.
- The mercury levels were estimated from a limited number of samples from an earlier study, so they may not reflect all fish sold in the country.
Who paid
- Funding
- Funded by Ministry of Health Malaysia (from the PubMed record).
- Conflicts
- The authors declare no competing interests.
- Authors work at
- Institute for Medical Research, Malaysia; International Medical University, Malaysia
The paper
- Title
- Exposure Assessment of methyl mercury from consumption of fish and seafood in Peninsular Malaysia
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Ahmad NI, Mahiyuddin WRW, Azmi WNFW, Azlee RSR, Shaharudin R, Sulaiman LH (2022). Exposure Assessment of methyl mercury from consumption of fish and seafood in Peninsular Malaysia. Environmental science and pollution research international. doi:10.1007/s11356-021-17483-6Free full textPubMed 34826068DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error