News Coverage
Alarming Alert About Fish
Published May 18, 2004
WJLA-TV Script
Anchor:
WE'VE BEEN TOLD FOR YEARS BY DOCTORS - FISH IS GOOD FOR US BECAUSE IT'S LOW IN FAT AND CALORIES, AND HIGH IN PROTEIN.
BUT IT COULD BE POISONING YOU . IF YOU'RE EATING THE WRONG KIND OF FISH OR TOO MUCH OF IT.
IN FACT, AN ABC-7 MEDICAL INVESTIGATION DISCOVERED THAT SOME FISH IN LOCAL STORES IS SO HIGH IN MERCURY THAT IT COULD BE TOXIC IF EATEN REGULARLY.
MEDICAL REPORTER KATHY FOWLER JOINS US WITH THIS IMPORTANT STORY THAT AFFECTS ALL OF OUR HEALTH.
Fowler on set:
IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE - FISH IS HEALTHY. IT'S THE MERCURY FROM POLLUTED WATERS THAT MAKES CERTAIN KINDS OF FISH POTENTIALLY POISONOUS TO ALL OF US.
ONE WOMAN WAS SHOCKED TO FIND THAT HER HEALTHY EATING HABITS WERE ACTUALLY HURTING HER.
Story:
Donna Elrick, mercury poisoning victim: "Knowing that fish had omega fatty acids and was lower in calories and was supposedly good for you, I decided to eat it seven to ten times a week."
TODAY YOU WON'T FIND ANY SEAFOOD IN DONNA ELRICK'S HOUSE. SHE DOESN'T EAT IT. NOT AFTER HER DOCTOR DIAGNOSED HER WITH MERCURY POISONING.
Donna: "I was afraid of losing my mind."
SHE WAS LOSING HER SHORT AND LONG-TERM MEMORY. NEUROLOGICAL DAMAGE IS A CLASSIC SIGN OF MERCURY POISONING.
Jane Houlihan, Environmental Working Group: "There's no way to know how much mercury is in the fish you buy. You can't smell it, see it or taste it."
Kathy Fowler, ABC 7 News: "Are there dangerous levels of mercury in the fish that you are eating? We decided to test fish from 4 supermarket chains in our area and from one fish market here to see if local seafood is safe."
OUR TEST IS A STATISTICALLY SMALL SAMPLE FROM RANDOM LOCATIONS IN D.C., MARYLAND AND VIRGINIA.
EIGHT OF THE FISH WERE FRESH TUNA AND SWORDFISH . THE OTHER EIGHT WERE CANNED ALBACORE TUNA.
AN INDEPENDENT ACCREDITED LAB TESTED THESE FISH AND FOUND DETECTABLE LEVELS OF MERCURY IN ALL THE SAMPLES.
ALL THE FISH WE TESTED HAD DETECTABLE LEVELS OF MERCURY.
THE LEVELS OF MERCURY IN THE CANNED ALBACORE TUNA WERE CONSIDERED SAFE ACCORDING TO THE FDA. BUT THE MERCURY LEVELS IN HALF THE FRESH FISH WERE UNSAFE - ACCORDING TO FDA'S SAFETY LIMITS.
THE FISH FROM SAFEWAY TESTED SAFE. THE FRESH TUNA SAMPLE FROM GIANT WAS 30 PERCENT OVER THE FDA'S SAFE LIMIT.
THE SWORDFISH FROM WHOLE FOODS AND THE FRESH TUNA FROM SHOPPER'S FOOD WAREHOUSE WERE BOTH 50 PERCENT OVER.
AND THE FRESH SWORDFISH FROM PRUITT SEAFOOD WAS 70 PERCENT OVER. SENATOR PATRICK LEAHY SAYS HE'S CONCERNED ABOUT THE MERCURY LEVELS IN FISH.
Senator Patrick Leahy, D-VT: "I think we are being exposed to unsafe levels. You might get a higher concentration along the Atlantic seaboard, just because of our wind patterns. But we're all being exposed to it."
CURRENTLY, THE FDA DOES NOT LIST TUNA AS A FISH FOR PREGNANT AND NURSING MOTHERS AND CHILDREN TO AVOID.
THAT HIGH RISK GROUP IS ONLY TOLD NOT TO EAT SWORDFISH, KING MACKEREL, SHARK AND TILEFISH.
Jane Houlihan: "Tuna has made it through the cracks. The tuna industry meets regularly with the FDA and they have aggressively lobbied to keep themselves off the mercury warning list."
Dr. David Acheson, FDA: "I categorically deny that."
THE CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER FOR THE FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION ADMITS SOME TUNA HAS UNSAFE MERCURY LEVELS. BUT ACCORDING TO THE FDA'S MOST RECENT TESTING, ON AVERAGE TUNA IS USUALLY UNDER THE LEGAL LIMIT AND HE SAYS THERE'S NO REASON TO CHANGE RECOMMENDATIONS ON TUNA RIGHT NOW.
Dr. Acheson: "You can't develop public health advice on thin air. You need science to do it . largely the explanation is there aren't the studies that would say we need to do anything different."
THE TUNA INDUSTRY ALSO STANDS BY THE SAFETY OF THEIR PRODUCT. THEY ISSUED A STATEMENT SAYING:
"TUNA IS LOW IN FAT, HIGH IN NUTRITION, A GREAT PROTEIN SOURCE AND WE DO NOT BELIEVE THAT THE MERCURY LEVELS IN TUNA ARE PUTTING ANYONE AT RISK."
SO WHAT SHOULD CONSUMERS DO? THE FDA STILL SUGGESTS EATING FISH BECAUSE IT'S HIGH IN PROTEIN AND LOW IN FAT. BUT TRY TO LIMIT THE AMOUNT OF FISH THAT'S HIGH IN MERCURY.
AS FOR DONNA - SHE'S DECIDED TO GIVE UP FISH FOR GOOD. SHE FEELS THE CURRENT RECOMMENDATIONS DON'T PROTECT HER OR ANYONE.
Donna: "I mean that's why I ate fish - because reports, medical reports, government reports says fish is one of the most healthy things to eat. They need to let you know it's not."
Fowler on set:
IMPORTANTLY WE SHOULD NOTE, GOVERNMENT STANDARDS OF MERCURY LEVELS IN FISH ARE BASED ON AVERAGES OF MANY SAMPLES, NOT INDIVIDUAL SAMPLES AS WE TESTED. SO WE NEED TO BE VERY CAREFUL ON BASING ASSESSMENT ON OUR SMALL RANDOM STUDY.
ALL OF THE GROCERY STORES AND THE FISH MARKET WHERE WE BOUGHT FISH SAY THEY TAKE EVERY PRECAUTION TO BUY FISH WITH SAFE LEVELS OF MERCURY.
EACH OF THE STORES COMMENTS ARE LISTED BELOW, ALONG WITH OTHER INFORMATION ON SEAFOOD SAFETY:
Whole Foods Market Statement for WJLA (ABC 7 NEWS) Regarding Methyl Mercury Testing
Whole Foods Market consistently offers the highest quality, freshest seafood gathered from the best sources around the world. We pride ourselves on keeping our customers informed of the latest health and environmental issues. We appreciate WJLA helping inform consumers about methyl mercury in tuna and swordfish as we have been helping educate our shoppers for years about limiting the consumption of fish that typically contains higher levels of methyl mercury like swordfish and fresh/frozen tuna.
In addition, we stress the importance of varying the seafood options in diets and we give our customers information so they can make smart, empowered decisions when purchasing fish. Through printed brochures in our stores, information on our website and by verbal communication with our customers, we help educate our shoppers that these types of fish should be enjoyed in moderation - especially for those who are pregnant or who trying to be come pregnant, a nursing mother, or a child.
We would also like to take this opportunity to explain that levels can vary greatly fish by fish and that it is not feasible to test fresh product for methyl mercury levels as there is a 2-3 day minimum on testing.
Also, testing one fish for levels of methyl mercury is not representative of fish that come in on a consistent basis.
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Shoppers Food and Pharmacy Statement
May 18, 2004
At Shoppers Food and Pharmacy, the safety and quality of our fresh food products is our highest priority. We are concerned by reports that a serving of tuna allegedly purchased at one of our stores tested high for mercury content. We have reviewed the test results with our supplier.
At Shoppers, we are committed to providing our customers with high quality products at competitive prices. To ensure the integrity of our seafood products and to provide complete customer satisfaction, we purchase all our seafood from reputable, USDA- certified distributors. Once the seafood has been delivered to our stores, we handle it in accordance with our safe food handling policies and procedures. Products are properly refrigerated, dated and rotated. We also complete regular quality checks. In addition, we follow all USDA and FDA guidelines and are in excellent standing with all government agencies. We will continue to work diligently with our state regulatory agencies, our distributors and our stores to insure the quality of our seafood.
As always, customer satisfaction is our number one priority. We stand behind our product quality with a 100% money-back freshness guarantee.
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Giant Food Statement Regarding Mercury Testing on Seafood
We are currently reviewing the test results. Giant works constantly with our seafood suppliers to assure that all of the seafood we sell is safe and wholesome for consumption. The suppliers of our tuna and swordfish and inspected by the United States Department of Commerce (USDC).
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Statement from Pruitt Seafood, Frank Dixon, Manager
This is obviously a concern. There is no way for us to tell whether or not there is mercury in the fish we buy. We are considering putting out literature informing our customers about potential dangers of mercury and how to best protect themselves.