News Coverage
Mercury: Pregnant women should avoid tuna - FDA panel
Published July 28, 2002
The Food and Drug Administration should include tuna in its advisory to pregnant women and children on what fish they should avoid, concluded a panel of outside experts meeting near Washington last Thursday. In response to concerns that FDA did not do enough to warn the public about methylmercury contamination in seafood, specifically tuna, the agency convened the 15-member expert panel to address the topic and make recommendations. The panel made six recommendations altogether that the FDA said it will address in the upcoming fiscal year.
When FDA released its consumer advisory on methylmercury in fish in January 2001, it warned women of child-bearing age to avoid eating shark, king mackerel, tile fish and swordfish, and limit consumption of other fish to 12 ounces or less per week. Some consumer groups voiced concern with FDA's omission of tuna, but the agency said the mercury contamination in tuna was "really quite low" and that women do not eat enough to pose any danger. The Environmental Working Group disagreed with FDA's conclusion, saying tuna poses a serious threat to pregnant women and children and should be included on the list of fish to avoid...
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