News Coverage
Can The Tuna?
Published December 22, 2003
The federal government last week advised children and women who are pregnant, nursing, or of childbearing age to limit their intake of mercury-laden tuna and certain other fish and shellfish to 12 ounces (two to three meals) a week. The Food and Drug Administration further warns that they shouldn't eat any one kind of fish or shellfish more than once a week.
The reason: to avoid ingesting dangerous amounts of mercury, a toxin known to damage developing brains and nervous systems. The advisory expands an earlier alert warning pregnant women to avoid swordfish, shark (yes, that means sushi, too), king mackerel, and tilefish because of unusually high levels of mercury.
Critics charge the advisory doesn't go far enough; they say it fails to adequately warn women of the risks of eating even small amounts of tuna and other fish during their pregnancies.
"Millions of women," says Jane Houlihan of the Environmental Working Group, "are putting their babies at risk for brain damage by eating mercury-tainted tuna."