In light of these considerations, the NNHC arrived at the following
conclusion: “The NNHC strongly believes that country food is generally
the best food for Nunavimmiut, including for pregnant women and
their children. Country food consumption has significantly decreased
over the last decade. Therefore, everybody must be incited to increase
their consumption of country foods, the only limitation being for
childbearing-age women who should limit their consumption of beluga
meat. This recommendation holds until there is an evidence of a
decrease in Hg content of this specific country food.” Further details
can be found on the Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social
Services (NRBHSS) website (www.rrsss17.gouv.qc.ca), under the
NCDS section.
Moreover, in villages along the Eastern Hudson Bay, the Inuulitsivik
Health Centre, began in September 2011 a program that freely
distributes Arctic char (searun spp.) to pregnant women, in order
to reduce MeHg exposure and improve nutritional status among
pregnant women and newborns. A study is now on-going to evaluate
the efficacy of the Public Health recommendations and the Arctic
char distribution program on prenatal exposure to MeHg as well as
nutrient status and newborn health conditions in Nunavik. Preliminary
data show that only 20% of Nunavik pregnant women are food secure,
and that a quarter of pregnant women have experienced hunger (Pirkle
et al., unpublished data). This highlights the urgent need for local
community-adapted interventions actively promoting and facilitating
the consumption of diverse local country foods and improving food
security, while minimizing the risk of MeHg from beluga meat, notably
among childbearing-age women.