News Coverage
Mercury findings spur group to act
Published January 4, 2004
The fish stories continue at the Food and Drug Administration. So does the confusion about whether pregnant women and kids should be eating canned tuna.
"The FDA advisory (on seafood consumption) doesn't tell people how to eat seafood safely," said Jane Houlihan, vice president of research at the Environmental Working Group, a Washington, D.C.-based consumer advocacy organization. "The fact is, a pregnant woman who eats one (6-ounce) can of albacore tuna each week could be exceeding a safe dose of mercury by 30 percent on average."
That's because new test results from the FDA indicate albacore or white canned tuna can contain up to three times more mercury than less expensive tuna.
"It's new information for a lot of Americans," said Houlihan, who stopped eating canned tuna several years ago after EWG conducted its first analysis of FDA data regarding tuna and other seafood. "But the FDA first conducted research showing albacore tuna is higher in mercury back in 1993."
As a result, the Environmental Working Group filed a legal challenge last week to force the FDA to be explicit in all warnings about the potential dangers of eating tuna for everyone. The agency has 60 days to respond.
"Lots of people don't know what to think or do about mercury in canned tuna anymore," said Houlihan. "One option is to stop eating it."
Although tuna is a fish high in healthy omega-3, or "good," fats, it is hard to argue with the logic of looking to other seafood high in omegas but low in potential mercury risk. Salmon is a popular alternative, fresh or canned. It makes a nutritious and safe protein source for your dinner-size salad.
Other experts joined Houlihan at a FDA panel hearing last month. "You made a stab at tuna, but you didn't quite get it right," said Marion Aller, the Florida Agriculture Department's food-safety director, at the hearing.
In 2001, the FDA put out a mercury advisory for pregnant women and young children to avoid eating shark, swordfish, king mackerel and tilefish. Eating 12 ounces of any other fish (two 6-ounce servings) each week was within safe limits, according to the FDA.
Toxicity activists such as Houlihan argued that not distinguishing the potential high amounts of mercury in tuna was a mistake. Mercury can damage growing brains of fetuses and young children.
The FDA responded by suggesting the 12 ounces of fish should come from a variety of fish, not just the inexpensive, convenient can of tuna. The federal agency also has cautioned that albacore "generally" contains more mercury than light tuna.
Here are some of the panel's suggestions extracted from two days of hearings on potential mercury content in fish and other seafood: Create a consumer-friendly list of fish and seafood to inform pregnant women of both high-risk fish and fish that are safe options. The list could include low, moderate and high-risk levels.
The panelists firmly and repeatedly suggested moving albacore tuna to the high-caution list while light tuna could remain where canned tuna has resided in recent years, on the low-caution list (no more than one meal per week).
Tuna steaks, red snapper, halibut, orange roughy and lobster are all on the moderate-caution list (one meal or less per month), while cod, mahi mahi and crab joined canned tuna on the low-caution list. Seafood with the lowest level of mercury (more than one meal per week) includes salmon, shrimp, farm-raised catfish and trout, flounder, sole, perch and scallops.
Another wise suggestion: Develop more straightforward advice about how much mercury to allow in children by breaking down serving size by body weight. One of the biggest concerns about mercury among scientists is how it might work in accelerated fashion in developing bodies.
There is another significant way to upgrade Americans' awareness about mercury levels in fish and seafood.
The government can commit to be more demanding about the source of the seafood, including where it was caught and the weight of the fish when applicable (larger fish can store mercury more readily than smaller fish).
FDA officials said at the hearing that the agency hopes to issue revised mercury and fish warnings by spring. EWG doesn't intend to wait passively.