The proof is in the pudding, as the saying goes, and obviously pudding is safe to eat. Just call me or Bill Cosby - we can talk tapioca all day. Today's Salt Lake Tribune editorial insists that "Makers of dietary supplements should have to prove safety." Sounds obvious, but if it isn't food you eat or a drug you take, don't assume it's been proven safe.

The magazine Consumer Reports is warning pregnant women not to eat any tuna at all because the government can't assure us that even supposedly-safe light tuna won't contain excessive levels of mercury, which harms developing brains.

Today FDA announced it found high levels of benzene in several samples in a test of a small number of sodas and juice drinks.

The beverage industry has conceded to remove high-calorie soft drinks from schools. They will, however, be continuing to sell diet sodas and fruit drinks, which contain fewer calories and less sugar.

The House votes today on a bill pitting giant food companies against the health and safety of American families—a measure that could nullify state laws warning consumers about mercury in fish, lead in candy, arsenic in bottled water, benzene in soft drinks and dozens of other dangers.

The Chicago Tribune is running a powerful series this week on mercury in seafood, including test results for eight different kinds of fish purchased in Chicago-area fish markets and supermarkets.

The Washington Post's Juliet Eilperin reports on a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study that shows that U.S. women living near a coast have higher levels than women living inland.

As an update to last week's post on high mercury levels in supermarket tuna samples, the Eugene Register-Guard provides incentives for eating locally-caught fish: lower mercury, higher omega-3s and support for community businesses.

In the past week, activists have pressed Teflon maker DuPont to clean up its act on two fronts. Environmental groups demanded that the company monitor groundwater around its local plant, the only one in the US that makes this indestructible, cancer-causing chemical, and the steeworkers' union urged carpet and clothing retailers and fast food companies to warn consumers that their products may be coated with chemicals that break down into DuPont's toxic Teflon chemical.