DEBRIS.COMgood for a laugh, or possibly an aneurysm

The ongoing saga of tainted fish makes the news again with the release of the Got Mercury website, a project of the Turtle Island Restoration Network.

It’s a great idea: you type in your weight and the amount of a certain fish you’d like to eat, and the calculator tells you whether or not you’re poisoning yourself.

Startling example: a 4oz. piece of Orange Roughy puts me 30% over the EPA’s “safe exposure” limit. Last Fall, I had a bag of SeaMazz Orange Roughy fillets in the freezer. I’d guess each fillet weighed 4 oz. I had no idea these were unsafe to eat.

I actually traded emails with SeaMazz about the product; their customer service reps correctly noted that “Orange Roughy is not included in the FDA’s key advisory list of highest mecury level fish.” But saying that some other fish are even more toxic doesn’t really address the safety question. (I don’t mean to disparage SeaMazz; I’m quite sure their product meets or exceeds all governmental safety regulations.)

Finally, in case anyone was wondering, the whole “Got” campaign still irritates the hell out of me, even though I once succumbed to its foul pop-culture charms.