News Coverage
Tuna Found Harmful to Pregnant Women
Published December 11, 2003
BLITZER: Today, an important health warning for women of childbearing age. The Food and Drug Administration is advising them to limit the amount of tuna they eat because of concerns involving mercury poisoning. CNN's Jennifer Coggiola is here in Washington. She's joining us now live with details. Jennifer, tell our viewers what's going on.
JENNIFER COGGIOLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: These are some updated recommendations regarding fish consumption for particularly some high- risk groups. Today's advisory is from the -- excuse me. The FSF -- I apologize. The FDA and the Environmental Protection Agency and what it's really done is reiterate some crucial guidelines particularly for mothers- to-be and for women in their reproductive years.
COGGIOLA, (voice-over): Obesity, anemia, moms-to-be have their hands full with things to worry about and what you eat can be one of the most crucial.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Diet plays, in my opinion, an important role during pregnancy.
CAGGIOLA: A draft advisory from the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency warns pregnant women, women who may become pregnant, nursing mothers, and young children to limit the intake of certain fish because of their high levels of mercury.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Avoid shark, swordfish, tile fish, and king mackerel.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is one of -- not the most important aspect of prenatal care but in the dietary realm of prenatal care, probably one of the more important ones.
COGGIOLA: Scientists have learned that fish with high levels of mercury can cause adverse effects on the developing nervous system of the fetus.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In utero, high levels of mercury exposure can decrease cognition, can be associated with cerebral palsy, can be associated sometimes with mild mental retardation.
COGGIOLA: That list also includes the second most highly consumed seafood in the U.S. -- tuna. The FDA recommends about two six-ounce portions of tuna or other low-mercury fish like catfish, salmon, halibut, and crab per week. Lastly, the preparation and kind of fish can play a role. For example, tuna steaks and canned tuna generally contain higher levels of mercury than canned light tuna. Also in the new advisory, the FDA recommends mixing up the kind of fish that you eat in an average week.
Health experts add that women should heed caution with all seafood and shellfish but with tuna, packing a protein punch, it can still be part of a healthy diet.
COGGIOLA: But how does the mercury get into our system? Well, mercury is considered what's called bio-accumulative. What that means is it builds up and it tends to concentrate in fatty tissues. So for fish and other what are called big fish, they're considered higher order. They eat smaller fish and they eat smaller fish, and plants, so the mercury tends to build up in their muscles and their fat through time. So the real danger essentially is what the fish has eaten, you have eaten and that mercury build-up is what's dangerous -- Wolf?
BLITZER: All right. CNN's Jennifer Coggiola with that important information. Jennifer, thank you very much.
Let's get a little bit more perspective now on what all this means in very practical terms. Lisa Drayer is the registered dietitian and nutritionist with Dietwatch.com. She's joining us now live from New York. Lisa, should women generally, especially pregnant women but women in general, should they stop eating tuna?
LISA DRAYER, NUTRITIONIST, DIETITIAN: I don't think anyone has to stop eating tuna but it is important to know which tuna contains higher levels of mercury. For example, the albacore tuna, that's also known as white tuna, that has almost three times as much mercury as compared to light canned tuna.
So that's just something to keep in mind. Now remember, this advisory is not specific to tuna, but rather, the recommendation is to limit all fish, including tuna, to no more than six ounces per week, for sensitive populations, specifically pregnant women and women of childbearing age. As for the rest of us, including men, and women who are not of childbearing age, you just want to mix up your fish, get a large variety of fish that can include tuna, and lots of other types of fish that are also high in omega-3 fatty acids which are protective for the heart, such as salmon, for example.
BLITZER: So women who are pregnant or thinking about getting pregnant, how much tuna or these other kinds of fish should they be eating at all?
DRAYER: We're talking about a limit of 12 ounces per week. Now you might say, what does 12 ounces look like? But if you can picture what a deck of cards looks like, this is a visual that I often use, that's about three ounces. It looks something like this. This is a piece of salmon. This is three ounces. If you multiply this by four, that's the quantity that you're talking about to limit per week.
BLIZTER: Lisa Drayer with some important perspective on this story. Tuna, who would have thought? Thanks very much for that information.
DRAYER: Thank you.
BLITZER: What effect will the warning have on the giant tuna industry? CNN's Kathleen Hayes is in New York with that part of the story -- Kathleen?
KATHLEEN HAYES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Wolf. Well, think about it. Tuna sandwiches, tuna salad, tuna noodle casserole. We're not just talking about comfort foods, we're talking about something that means big bucks to a big industry.
HAYES, (voice-over): Tuna is a major catch for American consumers. 84 percent of U.S. households eat it, buying $1.4 billion worth every year. Mostly in cans from household names like Starkist, Bumblebee, and Chicken Of The Sea, that makes it not only one of the most popular items on grocery store shelves, along with staples like coffee and sugar, but also the most eaten fish in the country. Critics say that also makes tuna a big business with undue influence over government regulators.
RICHARD WILES, ENVIRONMENTAL WORKING GROUP: They clearly have significant clout at Food and Drug Administration and they've been able to override recommendations from the National Academy of Sciences on several occasions. They've used their influence in the past, and we've documented this through FDA's own internal documents, to have tuna taken off health advisories.
HAYES: The tuna industry doesn't deny some mercury risk, especially for pregnant women, but it says cutting back on tuna would deprive U.S. consumers of a good, cheap source of protein that is both low in fat and carbohydrates, while rich in special nutrients found in fish oil known as omega-3s.
To suggest that women and children not eat tuna could be detrimental to a child's brain development and health. The U.S. Tuna Foundation said in a statement today, "we should be encouraging women and children to eat more fish because of the nutritional benefits." To the 25,000 people who fish it, can it, and label it, the outcome of the tuna debate is critical.
If Americans eat less tuna, it could cost some people their jobs.
HAYES: The Environmental Working Group says this is -- this tuna question is actually part of a bigger debate. They say the Bush administration has rolled back standards on mercury contamination and that doesn't just benefit the tuna industry but the larger energy- producing companies as well -- Wolf?
BLITZER: CNN's Kathleen Hays with that part of the story. Kathleen, thank you very much.