Evolving science and debate concerning the benefits and risks of consuming fish have resulted in confusion over the years, and national and international food safety agencies have recognized the need to provide useful, clear and relevant information in this regard to consumers. In October 2023, FAO and WHO held the second Joint FAO/WHO Expert Consultation on the Risks and Benefits of Fish Consumption to analyse new scientific evidence on the matter and draw relevant conclusions and recommendations. The overall conclusions of the exercise show that consuming fish provides energy, protein and a range of other nutrients important for health, and that there are benefits related to fish consumption during all life stages (pregnancy, childhood and adulthood). General population studies show that the benefits and individual effects of fish consumption vary depending on overall diet, the characteristics of consumers, and the fish that is consumed.

The report of the first Joint FAO/WHO Expert Consultation on the Risks and Benefits of Fish Consumption was published in 2010. Since then, new literature, data and information on the subject have become available. As such, FAO and WHO decided to generate a background report consisting of a comprehensive literature review, followed by an expert consultation, to update the report with new scientific evidence. This background document aims to provide scientific evidence about the risks and benefits of fish consumption in order to update the 2010 Report of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Consultation on the Risks and Benefits of Fish Consumption. To provide new scientific evidence, five extensive literature reviews were conducted, focusing on the following five topics: 1. evidence of health benefits from fish consumption; 2. toxic effects of dioxins and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (dl-PCBs) (from studies published since 2010); 3. toxic effects of methylmercury (MeHg) (from studies published since 2010); 4. the role of selenium (Se) with regard to the health effects of MeHg; 5. occurrence data for MeHg, dioxins and dl-PCBs in fishery and aquaculture products (from studies published since 2010). The reviews followed a systematic approach, performing a systematic literature search and implementing elements from systematic literature reviews. A systematic review attempts to identify, appraise and synthesize all the empirical evidence that meets prespecified eligibility criteria to answer a specific research question.

"In response to growing public concern in recent years regarding the presence of chemical contaminants in fish as well as emerging evidence on the multiple nutritional benefits of including fish in the diet, FAO and WHO convened a Joint Expert Consultation on the Risk and Benefits More ... of Fish Consumption. The output of the Expert Consultation is a framework for assessing the net health benefits or risks of fish consumption that will provide guidance to national food safety authorities and the Codex Alimentarius Commission in their work on managing risks, taking into account the existing data on the benefits of eating fish."--Publisher description

Building on the Millennium Development Goals, the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the cornerstone of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, billed by the UN as “an agenda of unprecedented scope and significance.” These seventeen goals are conceived as integrated, indivisible, and as balancing the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development. To be achieved by 2030, the goals are organized around five core pillars: people, planet, prosperity, peace and partnership. As a member of the SDGs Publishers Compact, Frontiers is committed to advocating the themes represented by the SDGs and accelerating progress to achieve them. Nutrition sits at the heart of the SDGs. In addition to achieving ‘Zero Hunger’ (SDG2), improvements in nutrition are critical to both achieve and reap the benefits of all seventeen global goals. With good nutrition comes improved health and wellbeing (SDG3), enhanced educational and work productivity (SDGs 4 and 8), less poverty (SDG1) and reduced inequalities (SDGs 5 and 10). And with stronger and more sustainable environments, communities, and technologies (SDGs 6, 7, 9, 11-17) improved food security and nutrition will follow. As part of an innovative collection showcasing nutrition in the context of the SDGs, this Research Topic will focus on Sustainable Development Goal 14: Life Below Water.

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) began 40 years ago as a pilot program and has since grown to serve over 8 million pregnant women, and mothers of and their infants and young children. Today the program serves more than a quarter of the pregnant women and half of the infants in the United States, at an annual cost of about $6.2 billion. Through its contribution to the nutritional needs of pregnant, breastfeeding, and post-partum women; infants; and children under 5 years of age; this federally supported nutrition assistance program is integral to meeting national nutrition policy goals for a significant portion of the U.S. population. To assure the continued success of the WIC, Congress mandated that the Food and Nutrition Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reevaluate the program's food packages every 10 years. In 2014, the USDA asked the Institute of Medicine to undertake this reevaluation to ensure continued alignment with the goals of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. In this third report, the committee provides its final analyses, recommendations, and the supporting rationale.