Table I. Average Mercury Concentrations in Selected Fish Protein Concentrates Mercury concentration Sample (ug He/g dry Location Catch date concentrate) +5 % Alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) April ’69 Lake Michigan 0.90 Anchovy (Engraulis mordax) January °69 California coast 0.44 Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus harengus) Wovember ’68 Massachusetts coast 0.60 Gulf menhaden (Brevoortia patronus) May ’69 Mississippi coast 0.51 Ocean pout (Macrozoarces americanus) January 69 Massachusetts coast 0.42 Menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus) June *69 Chesapeake Bay 0.34" @ Average of three concentrates processed from catches taken at the same time. Berlin (1969) have proposed a “temporary allowable daily mercury intake” of 60 wg which would take into account not only specific concentrations of mercury in foodstuffs but also an estimate of the quantity of such food ingested. Bowen (1966) lists the adult dietary intake of mercury as 5—20 ue/day. If we reasonably assumed a 10-30 g/day intake of rec and a current dietary Hg intake of 20 wg/day, then noneofthe products shown here would contribute quantities of Hg to the diet which would exceed Berglund and Berlin’s recommendedtotal Hg intake. tt would scem prudent to continue trace element measurements on these and other food products which employ a technological concentration step in addition to those which occur naturally. Increasing concentrations of these entities in the environment may, at a future time, require process modifications for their removal]. Literature Cited Abelson, P. H., Science 169, 237 (1970). Association of Official Agricultural Chemists, ‘Official Methods of Analysis of the aoac,’’ 10th ed., Washington D.C., 1965, p 957. Ayres, J., Science 152, 738 (1966). Beasley, T. M., Osterberg, C. L.. Jones, Y. M., Nature 221, 1207 (1969). Berglund, F., Berlin, M., “Chemical Fallout,” M. W. Miller and G. G. Berg, Eds., Charles C. Thomas, Springfield, HL, 1969, pp 423-32. Bowen H. J. M., “Trace Elements in Biochemistry,” Academic Press, London, 1966, pp 116 and 117. Brown, N., National Center for Fish Protein Concentrate, private communication, 1970. Gorsuch, T. T., Analyst (London) 84, 135 (1959). Handley, T. H., Dean, J. A., Anal. Chen. 32, 1878 (1960). Johnels, A. G., Westermark, T., “Chemical Fallout,” M. W. Miller and G. G. Berg, Eds., Charles C. Thomas, Springfield, IIL, 1969, pp 221-241. Robertson, D. E., Tech. Rept. BNWL-1307, Pacific Northwest Laboratory, 1970. WHO Tech. Rept. Ser. 370, 1967. Received for review November 19, 1970. Accepted February5, 1971, Work supported by the Atomic Energy Commission through contract no. AT(45-1)-2225, Task Agreement 14. Volume 5, Number 7, July 1971 635