Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

I dont think consuming 6 pieces of tuna sushi qualifies as excess. Thats a pretty normal serving. It's such a shame we've come to this. Fish is, pollution aside, probably the best food for you.

I'm more concerned about the alarming rate at which we are depleting the world's supply of seafood, cause enough to curtail the amount of fish we consume.

Honestly, if this were as huge a problem as the article made it out to be, wouldn't pretty much all of Japan have Mercury toxicity by now? As you say- anything in excess is dangerous. Heck, I've got the cure for cancer right here: stop using oxygen! In all seriousness I think society needs to move away from this idea of having to protect everyone from their own stupidity. If you're going to subsist on a diet which includes an disproportionate amount of any one food item- you're going to have problems. Japan has been consuming HUGE quantities of tuna in all forms of preparation for centuries, and they haven't all died off from the Mercury. This should say something about the 'hazard' of eating tuna.

also:

"I think society needs to move away from this idea of having to protect everyone from their own stupidity"

So you seek to promote willful ignorance? I want to know what is in the food I'm eating.

Japanese people have traditionally eaten tuna as a major component of their diet for hundreds of years, before industrial pollution became so prevalent. Are you calling Japanese people and their culture stupid?

Also:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601101&sid=asfVxPeVwhKQ&refer=japan

Japan consumes enormous amounts of tuna. If the government officially recognized mercury toxicity, it would ruin a big part of their economy, and be a severe blow to their culture. They dont have the best interests of their citizenry at heart by sticking their heads in the sand. And while you are entitled to your opinions, they are narrow minded and short sighted.

Mercury isn't a living organism, it's a heavy metal. I dont think there is any way to extract it. Also, just so you know, freezing doesnt kill bacteria, at least not at the temperatures of a home freezer. It slows it down and keeps it from reproducing. Only high heat kills bacteria. That's why you are not supposed to re-freeze something that was already frozen once and then defrosted at room temperature.

Some good rules of thumb for re-freezing foods:

http://www.askthemeatman.com/refreezing_food.htm

"So you seek to promote willful ignorance? I want to know what is in the food I'm eating." " Are you calling Japanese people and their culture stupid?"

No- I'm saying that telling people about something is one thing. Being alarmist about it and even considering banning thing is something entirely different. Tell people what is in the food, then let them (and their buying power) make their own decisions. If people want to live off Parabens and Trans-Fats, then let them for all I care! I'll happily grow my own food as I've been for years, and go along my merry way. Who am I to tell someone they can't decide what they want to eat?

I'm also not calling Japan stupid at all, you misunderstand my point. I'm saying that Japan as a major consumer of tuna should indicate something about the 'danger' of Mercury in tuna and other fish. Sure, Mercury levels have gone up- but it's always been a concern and I've not heard of any rash of Mercury toxicity related injury and death coming from Japan in the past few years/decades. The fact that the country which consumes the largest percentage of these 'toxic' fish isn't seeing any marked problem as a result makes me very skeptical about the level of risk in this. Sure there is risk, but is it really worth the alarmism? I don't think it is.