ebb
04-16-2009, 01:54 PM
"Pacific Seafood, a wholesale distributor in Sacramento, Monday (Mar06) became the first seafood processor in the nation to offer its customers the option of testing the level of mercury in the fish they purchase."
So begins an article by Gwen Schoen 'Computers utilized for quickly checking fish mercury levels'
Imagine it's a CSI inspired machine that a tiny sample is put into a tiny vial that is put into a tiny door in an expensive computer. The analysis prints out on a sheet of paper in 40 seconds.
The service is called 'Safe Harbor Fish'. Green restaurants and markets might use it. Begs the question when a tuna tests a high level of mercury whether it goes to a sushi bar "who's not part of the programme." Half the fish tested are rejected, but ALL the fish are "legal for sale in the United States."
It's a definite step up on dissolving a fish sample in nitric acid - digesting it under high pressure and temperature in a microwave - then analyzing it in an atomic fluorescence spectrometer.
Testing fish for mercury these days makes you a paranoid or a fool for not doing it. Fish has always been on the menu for a cruising sailor, whether off the stern or out of a can from the bilge.
It has come to this, my friends.
The only test I've found that comes close to what we might have aboard is Hybrivet Systems www.leadcheck.com Mercury Test Kit. An 8 swab kit costs $39.95. BUT the online specs say that its sensitivity is based on a "solid surface." It could very well NOT be the appropriate tool. At $5 a swab it may be worth a seabass - or not.
The Safe Harbor fish tests above use a hollow probe to take a sample out of the fish flesh which is then processed. I imagine that boat owners and fisherman should have soon a inexpensive syringe that would deposit a tiny core sample into a special liquid that will turn bright purple when a dangerous level of mercury is detected. With a litmus-like color bar it could register toxicity on a scale of intensity.
Sure would be nice to have an inexpensive single fish tester like that aboard.
A combined toxic heavy metals (lead, mercury, plutonium) tester would be even better. imco
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but Gentle Reader (as my daughter says) where will you dispose of the used test kit?:o
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More convenient would be semi stiff strip of impregnated plastic which you'd slip into an incision in the fish. It would change color to indicate toxicity.
We surely have a clearly defined need for a swift, easy and inexpensive fish toxicity tester.
So begins an article by Gwen Schoen 'Computers utilized for quickly checking fish mercury levels'
Imagine it's a CSI inspired machine that a tiny sample is put into a tiny vial that is put into a tiny door in an expensive computer. The analysis prints out on a sheet of paper in 40 seconds.
The service is called 'Safe Harbor Fish'. Green restaurants and markets might use it. Begs the question when a tuna tests a high level of mercury whether it goes to a sushi bar "who's not part of the programme." Half the fish tested are rejected, but ALL the fish are "legal for sale in the United States."
It's a definite step up on dissolving a fish sample in nitric acid - digesting it under high pressure and temperature in a microwave - then analyzing it in an atomic fluorescence spectrometer.
Testing fish for mercury these days makes you a paranoid or a fool for not doing it. Fish has always been on the menu for a cruising sailor, whether off the stern or out of a can from the bilge.
It has come to this, my friends.
The only test I've found that comes close to what we might have aboard is Hybrivet Systems www.leadcheck.com Mercury Test Kit. An 8 swab kit costs $39.95. BUT the online specs say that its sensitivity is based on a "solid surface." It could very well NOT be the appropriate tool. At $5 a swab it may be worth a seabass - or not.
The Safe Harbor fish tests above use a hollow probe to take a sample out of the fish flesh which is then processed. I imagine that boat owners and fisherman should have soon a inexpensive syringe that would deposit a tiny core sample into a special liquid that will turn bright purple when a dangerous level of mercury is detected. With a litmus-like color bar it could register toxicity on a scale of intensity.
Sure would be nice to have an inexpensive single fish tester like that aboard.
A combined toxic heavy metals (lead, mercury, plutonium) tester would be even better. imco
__________________________________________________ _______________________________________________
but Gentle Reader (as my daughter says) where will you dispose of the used test kit?:o
__________________________________________________ _______________________________________________
More convenient would be semi stiff strip of impregnated plastic which you'd slip into an incision in the fish. It would change color to indicate toxicity.
We surely have a clearly defined need for a swift, easy and inexpensive fish toxicity tester.