Put Strong Warning On Tuna, FDA Told

[Guest guest]

Speaking of fish, this article comes from the front page of this morning's

Chron:

 

PUT STRONG WARNING ON TUNA, FDA TOLD

 

Pregnant women most at risk

 

Jane Kay, Chronicle Environment Writer Friday, July 26, 2002

 

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration should warn pregnant women that

eating large amounts of canned tuna can cause potential fetal damage from

mercury, a science panel recommended Thursday.

 

The 15-member panel that advises the FDA on food matters issued its

recommendations Thursday after meeting for three days about whether women

needed stronger warnings on how much fish is safe to consume. The panel's

recommendations are generally approved by the FDA.

 

Mercury waste from mines and industry flows to oceans and lakes, and taints

fish and wildlife. At the greatest risk are fetuses, which can suffer damage

to their developing nervous systems.

 

The panel, meeting in Beltsville, Md., agreed that the FDA's fish advisories

issued last year don't go far enough and should include limits on canned

tuna, the most commonly eaten seafood in the nation.

 

Panel members did not define what unhealthful amounts are. But they praised

an advisory issued by Wisconsin, which suggests pregnant women limit their

consumption to one 6-ounce can of tuna a week plus 6 ounces of another

fish -- or two canned tuna meals for women who don't eat other fish.

 

FDA representatives said they would make the recommendations a top priority

for consideration in the next year.

 

The FDA already advises pregnant women -- and those who might become

pregnant -- against eating swordfish, shark, king mackerel and tilefish,

also called golden snapper, because of high mercury levels. The women,

nursing mothers and children should limit the consumption of other fish to

12 ounces a week.

 

MERCURY THREAT

" It's the first time that any federal government advisory panel has warned

women about the risk that mercury in canned tuna can pose a threat to their

unborn babies, " said Richard Wiles, at the Environmental Working Group based

in Washington, D.C.

 

The nonprofit group has issued two major reports over the past year,

charging that the FDA is failing to protect children by not having an

advisory on canned and fresh tuna. One report alleged that the FDA was

influenced by meetings with the food industry.

 

" We absolutely feel that women should be advised not to eat tuna at all

during pregnancy. But the FDA needs to give them advice on fish that are low

in mercury and good for their babies, " Wiles said.

 

SALMON RECOMMENDED

The group recommends wild Pacific salmon and wild and farmed trout as a

source of omega-3 fatty acids, beneficial for the developing brain, the

heart and other human systems.

 

Academics, predominantly, make up the panel. Other experts were invited to

participate.

 

Cornell University professor Joseph Hotchkiss, along with colleagues from

Michigan State University and Ohio State University, raised questions about

whether tuna advisories might scare away pregnant women from getting the

nutritional benefits of fish. Some might substitute with bologna and hot

dogs, they said.

 

OTHER GUIDELINES

Other recommendations are as follows, according to an FDA statement:

 

-- Determine how much canned tuna contributes to the mercury levels in

women. Do better risk assessments for children and provide dietary

recommendations based on their size.

 

-- Combine the FDA's fish advisories for consumers with the U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency's fish advisories for anglers.

 

-- Get the message out to women of child-bearing age who eat a lot of tuna

(perhaps two cans a day) that they are at risk from mercury. The National

Academy of Sciences estimates that at least 60,000 babies are born every

year that could have learning disabilities because their mothers absorbed

mercury while pregnant.

 

E-mail Jane Kay at jkay.