Seaweed plays a vital role in marine habitats, filtering the oceans by absorbing heavy metals, carbon dioxide, and even radiation. A variety called hijiki is particularly good at sopping up arsenic, and many food-safety agencies around the world advise against consuming more than small amounts of it.
So how can you know you’re getting all of seaweed’s myriad benefits without the risk?
“You want your seaweed to come from a really clean body of water,” says Jane Teas, PhD, of the University of South Carolina’s Cancer Center. To feel confident about the purity of your seaweed, read packaging and websites, or even call seaweed farmers and harvesters and ask where they source their product and whether they test for pollutants. Harvester Cole Meeker says he keeps close track of the state of the water in which his seaweed grows; he even tests for radioactive isotopes.
Teas recommends avoiding seaweed imported from China, since the government does not consistently enforce food-safety regulations.
I only saw one seaweed mentioned, whereas, article cited five????
Hi, Dinah. If you hover over the image of the five seaweeds pictured, it’ll name and describe each one. Hope that helps!
You mention the name of only one of the five seaweeds. It would be more helpful to tell us the name of all five that you recommend. Also, you say that they might be polluted. It would be good to give us either the names of products that are not polluted, or a website where we could go to find out that information.
If you hover over the image, Debby, you’ll see the names of each of the five seaweeds. As we note in the article, it’s best to contact the farmer or maker of your seaweed product to get an assessment on pollution and where they harvest, especially since the state of our waters changes often. You can also find more on safe seafood through the Seafood Watch program from Monterey Bay Aquarium.