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PROGRAM NAME:
Safe Harbor |
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WHAT THIS LABEL MEANS:
The Safe Harbor program tests and certifies fish that do not exceed specific levels of mercury contamination. For fish known to have higher levels of mercury, they certify only those that fall below the median level reported by the government. (The median is
the middle number in a sequence of numbers, or the average of the two middle numbers when the sequence has an even number of numbers.) Thus, they reject about 40 percent of the higher-mercury fish that they test. For fish known to have lower mercury levels, fish that test significantly higher than the normal range usually found are rejected. All Safe Harbor certified seafood fall below the 1 ppm limit allowed by the U.S. FDA.
Micro Analytical Systems, Inc. (MASI) developed the system and does the testing. MASI tests the fish at processing facilities before it is delivered to retailers and restaurants. Many large fish and those species known to be higher in mercury content are individually tested. Many small fish, or batches of fillets, and those species known to be lower in mercury, are batch-tested using a statistical sampling model.
The testing takes about a minute and uses a needle to obtain a small sample of the fish. A sample of the fish is injected into an automated device that weighs it and analyzes the total mercury content using a proprietary method. The operator is given a green or red light depending on whether the sample passes the standard or not. To ensure that the device gets accurate results, control standards provided by the National Institute of Standards Technology with a known level of mercury is periodically run through the testing device. The fish that pass the test are segregated and numbered so they can be tracked.
 | | Understanding Mercury
Mercury contamination is particularly of concern to children and pregnant or nursing women (since the fetus is especially vulnerable), but all people can be affected by mercury. Mercury is toxic to the nervous system, especially when the nervous system is still under development.
The EPA and the FDA advise women who may become pregnant, pregnant women, nursing mothers, and young children to avoid fish with high levels of mercury (shark, swordfish, king mackerel, and tile fish) and to eat up to 12 ounces a week of a variety of fish lower in mercury (e.g., shrimp, canned salmon, pollock, catfish). Although light tuna is on FDA’s low-mercury list, the Chicago Tribune recently found that light tuna were not low in mercury, a result later confirmed by the FDA. We recommend that pregnant women avoid canned tuna entirely.
The EPA and the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) recommend that adults consume no more than 1 microgram of mercury for every 22 pounds of bodyweight per day—an amount easily exceeded. Not even 1 serving a week of fish containing the FDA limit on mercury would be safe, according to that advice. For Consumers Union’s advice on how much at-risk groups can safely eat, based on the EPA/NAS recommendations, see the Low-mercury seafood: How much is safe?. |
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ORGANIZATION NAME AND CONTACT INFO:
Micro Analytical Systems, Inc. (MASI)
160 Mitchell Blvd.
San Rafael, CA
94903
Phone: 877-878-6274
URL: www.safeharborfoods.com
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ORGANIZATION SUMMARY:
HISTORY
Safe Harbor is a private company founded in 2002. The CEO, a patent lawyer, had the idea for the program.
FUNDING
Investors fund the company and the program.
STRUCTURE
Private company
ACCREDITOR
(not an accreditor)
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
Malcolm Wittenberg, CEO, President, and Chair of Board of Directors (List of other directors not made available)
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LABELS FROM THIS ORGANIZATION: |
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Safe Harbor
Program: Safe Harbor
Label Category: Low contaminant levels
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