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(CBS 5) For the first time ever, there is a mercury test that can measure the concentration of mercury in piece of fish in a matter of seconds, before it hits the dinner table. CBS5 ConsumerWatch collected about 50 fish samples from throughout the Bay Area.

The Safe Harbor Seafood Certification machine made by San Rafael-based Micro Analytical Systems found surprises in sushi and fillets.

"We've tested 75,000 fish since 2004," said Malcolm Wittenberg, the chemical engineer who invented the machine. "We've certainly found more mercury in fish than we thought would be there."

Wittenberg said the machine, which is about the size of an industrial garbage can, finds elevated levels of mercury in a third of the fish tested. His technology sets mercury limits much lower than the federal legal level allowed in seafood. Therefore, it challenges the very standards set by the FDA.

The federal government allows seafood to contain 1 part par million of mercury (1ppm). That's twice the levels allowed in Canada (.5ppm) and Europe (.5ppm). Japan's legal level for all fish (.4ppm) is even lower.

Safe Harbor's standards are in line with those lower limits. The machine sets the allowed levels of mercury at the industry average for each species of fish (Bass =.3ppm, Cod =.2ppm, Halibut=.5ppm, Salmon= .1ppm, Swordfish= .8 ppm, Yellowtail= .4ppm, Tuna =.4ppm) and if the mercury concentration in a sample exceeds the average – it fails the test.

CBS 5 ConsumerWatch put Bay Area sushi to the test, taking samples from grocery stores, boutique markets, restaurant chains, and high-end sushi houses.

Safe Harbor technician Bob Bragg drills out a piece of flesh the size of a grain of rice and measures for mercury concentration. The following sushi samples did not pass Safe Harbor standards.*

Safeway Ahi Tuna Sushi= .953 ppm
Bristol Farms Salmon Sushi=.214 ppm
Japantown Nijiya Market Yellowtail=.695 ppm
Benihana Yellowtail= .428 ppm
Ozumo Sushi Restaurant Yellowtail=.599 ppm

*Safe Harbor limits for Ahi = .4ppm, Salmon=.2ppm, Yellowtail =.4ppm.  FDA limit for all fish = 1ppm.

The rest of the sushi including samples from Whole Foods, Blowfish neighborhood specialty sushi, and We Be Sushi chain restaurant all passed the Safe Harbor test.

ConsumerWatch also purchased 15 pieces of fish sold at chain grocery stores and boutique markets around the Bay Area. Out of the batch, 4 contained mercury levels that were higher than Safe Harbor standards.*

Ranch 99 Ahi Tuna = .551 ppm.
Andronico's Ahi Tuna = .474 ppm
Trader Joe's Albacore Tuna = 1.093 ppm.
Nijiya Market Sea Bass= 1.842 ppm.

*Safe Harbor limits for Ahi and Albacore =.4ppm. FDA limit for all fish = 1ppm.

Wittenberg said releasing the results is not about pinpointing problems with specific retailers. He said it's about educating an industry and consumers about a technology solution that can help people who are trying to monitor their mercury intake. The retailers rely on suppliers and wholesalers to secure safe fish.

Until now, testing each piece would cost retailers hundreds of dollars and take up to a week. Currently, the FDA does not conduct extensive testing and does not provide safety labeling. Safe Harbor labels the fish that pass its mercury test with a certification sticker.

The service costs seafood suppliers about 25-cents per pound and that cost is passed on to the retailer

Desiree DeLano said her grocery stores carry seafood with the Safe Harbor Certification seal because it helps consumers choose the fish that's right for their particular health needs. The company has chosen not to pass the added testing cost to consumers.

"I just see people are more comfortable. They still ask questions, but there are a lot of people buying fish here with confidence when they see the fish has been tested," DeLano said. "And if they have that information, they can still eat healthy fish and make the right choices."

But there is opposition. Gavin Gibbons with the National Fisheries Institute said private tests holding standards that differ from federal guidelines will create confusion for fish suppliers, businesses, and consumers. He is concerned that fish with low or no levels of mercury that do not have a Safe Harbor seal will be considered dangerous, when it's perfectly safe. His industry advocacy group defends the current federal limits for mercury.

"FDA's action level of 1 ppm for methyl mercury in fish was established to limit consumers' methyl mercury exposure to levels 10 times lower than the lowest levels associated with adverse effects," Gibbons said.

Dr. Jane Hightower, a renowned expert in mercury poisoning says the federal action level does not take into account mercury can collect in the body, sometimes up to 2 months. She's seen the effects on patients who consumed high amounts of fish known to contain more of the toxin.

"The patients had non-specific symptoms such as headache, fatigue, troubles thinking, insomnia, muscle and joint pain, stomach upset, hair loss," Hightower said. "That 1.0ppm is not enough. That action level was only designed to protect overt, meaning the major symptoms, of the highest symptoms of mercury toxicity. It was never designed to protect those from the lesser symptoms such as the fatigue, and your headache and your symptoms that you would get before permanent damage can take place."

Safe Harbor Certification seals tell consumers that a particular piece of fish did not contain mercury levels higher than industry standards, but they don't list specific mercury amounts.

Dr. Hightower wants to see labeling that would tell consumers how much mercury -if any- is in the fish they purchase.

"I would like to see the actual number. I don't want the watered down version," Hightower said. "We are tired of the watered down version. We want the actual data."

Hightower also said testing each piece of fish before it hits the dinner table is a start.

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