How much salmon per week is safe? Mercury by kind

Mercury: FDA testing 1990 to 2012. Groups and servings: FDA and EPA advice for people who are or may become pregnant, are breastfeeding, and for children. A serving is 4 oz (113 g) for adults.

• Level E The FDA and EPA advice about eating fish tells readers to eat 2 to 3 servings a week from its Best Choices list. US FDA and EPA, Advice about Eating Fish
• Level E FDA and EPA advise 2 to 3 servings a week of Best Choices fish in pregnancy and breastfeeding, 2 servings a week for children, and list king mackerel, marlin, orange roughy, shark, swordfish, Gulf of Mexico tilefish and bigeye tuna as Choices to Avoid with the highest mercury levels. FDA and EPA, Advice about Eating Fish

One serving (4 oz) = 4 oz (113 g). USDA FoodData Central, Fish, salmon, Atlantic, farmed, cooked, dry heat. Limits count everything you eat and drink that day, so other foods and supplements use up part of each one.

Each row is a separate USDA analysis of the same food. The spread comes from variety, growing conditions and sampling, and it changes the answer.

• Level B In 120 young women over an autumn 8 weeks, 100 g a day of salmon sausage supplying about 5 micrograms vitamin D limited the fall in blood 25(OH)D to 4.3 nmol/L against 15.0 in controls. Nutrients, 2024
• Level B In 63 adults eating 26 oz (750 g) of fish a week for 8 weeks in a Norwegian autumn, vitamin D fell in every group but fell less with salmon than with cod. Br J Nutr, 2020
• Level B In 38 healthy adults eating 26 oz (750 g) a week for 4 weeks, salmon lowered triglycerides and raised HDL against lean meat, and cod did not. Br J Nutr, 2016
• Level B Over 6 months in 161 adults, 300 g a week of salmon lowered CRP by about 0.5 mg/L against dietary advice alone, and the 0.4 mg/L fall with cod had an interval reaching zero. J Nutr, 2010
• Level B In 63 adults with overweight, 26 oz (750 g) of cod a week for 8 weeks lowered the immune marker neopterin by 2.65 nmol/L, and the same amount of salmon did not. Eur J Nutr, 2021

Only studies that give the amount eaten. Levels: A is a meta-analysis of trials, B a randomized trial, C an observational study. How we grade evidence.

• Level E FDA kept a Daily Value of 300 mg for cholesterol on US food labels, as an intake not to exceed to lower heart disease risk. FDA, 2016, Food Labeling: Revision of the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels, final rule (FR Doc. 2016-11867)
• Level E The Tolerable Upper Intake Level for vitamin D is 100 mcg (4,000 IU) a day for adults. NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, Health Professional Fact Sheet: Vitamin D
• Level E FDA and EPA advise people who are pregnant or breastfeeding to eat 8 to 12 ounces of lower-mercury seafood a week, and salmon sits in the Best Choices group they name. U.S. Food and Drug Administration and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Advice about Eating Fish
• Level E FDA and EPA list both salmon and shrimp among the Best Choices lowest in mercury and advise people who are pregnant or breastfeeding to eat 8 to 12 ounces of such seafood a week. FDA, Advice about Eating Fish
• Level E The FDA Listeria guidance for pregnant women says refrigerated smoked seafood, such as salmon, is most often labeled nova-style, lox, kippered, smoked or jerky. US FDA, Listeria: Food Safety for Moms-to-Be

If you have kidney disease, take blood thinners or other medicines, or are pregnant, the right amount for you is a question for your clinician.

The 2 to 3 servings (8 to 12 oz) a week in FDA and EPA advice is written for people who are or may become pregnant, are breastfeeding, and for children, and it asks them to spread that amount across a variety of lower-mercury fish (Level E).

Over 6 months in 161 adults, 10.6 oz (300 g) a week lowered CRP by about 0.5 mg/L against dietary advice alone (Level B). In 38 healthy adults, 26 oz (750 g) a week for 4 weeks lowered triglycerides and raised HDL compared with lean meat (Level B).

If you eat it daily, a 4 oz serving of farmed Atlantic salmon carries 15 mcg of vitamin D, 71 mg of cholesterol and 234 calories in the USDA record. It takes more than 6 servings a day to reach the 100 mcg vitamin D upper limit, and about 4 to reach the 300 mg label Daily Value for cholesterol.

In pregnancy, FDA advises avoiding refrigerated smoked seafood, often labeled lox or nova-style, unless it is in a cooked dish (Level E). Fish is one of the nine major food allergens in the US (Level E).

Evidence behind this note

1. Level E FDA and EPA advise people who are pregnant or breastfeeding to eat 8 to 12 ounces of lower-mercury seafood a week, and salmon sits in the Best Choices group they name. U.S. Food and Drug Administration and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Advice about Eating Fish
2. Level B Over 6 months in 161 adults, 300 g a week of salmon lowered CRP by about 0.5 mg/L against dietary advice alone, and the 0.4 mg/L fall with cod had an interval reaching zero. J Nutr, 2010
3. Level B In 38 healthy adults eating 26 oz (750 g) a week for 4 weeks, salmon lowered triglycerides and raised HDL against lean meat, and cod did not. Br J Nutr, 2016
4. Level E FDA lists raw or smoked fish among foods that can carry Listeria and advises pregnant women to avoid refrigerated smoked seafood, tuna included, unless it is in a cooked dish. Listeriosis is life-threatening especially for unborn and newborn children, adults over 65 and people with weakened immune systems. US FDA, Listeria (Food Safety for Moms-to-Be)
5. Level E The FDA Listeria guidance for pregnant women says refrigerated smoked seafood, such as salmon, is most often labeled nova-style, lox, kippered, smoked or jerky. US FDA, Listeria: Food Safety for Moms-to-Be
6. Level E FDA lists fish among the nine major food allergens, and US law requires the species of fish to be named on the label. FDA, Food Allergies (Food Labeling and Nutrition)

Written from the data and studies on this page, reviewed by the Bioma editorial system. How we verify.

• Salmon: what the research says
• Salmon: full nutrition facts
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