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Women who are pregnant or lactating and those who
may become pregnant should eat no more than 12 ounces (two average
meals) of a variety of fish and shellfish per week, a new federal
advisory recommends.
No more than 6 of those 12 ounces should be in the
form of albacore “white” tune, according to the advisory, which as
issued by the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental
Protection Agency last month.
Five of the most commonly eaten fish that are low
in mercury are shrimp, canned light tuna, salmon, Pollock, and catfish.
Albacore tuna contains more mercury, so albacore consumption was limited
to 6 ounces (one average meal) per week.
Women in these groups should eat no shark,
swordfish, king mackerel, or tilefish, which contain high levels of
mercury, the document says, reiterating a recommendation made in an
advisory issued by the FDA in 2001.
In addition, these women should check local
advisories about the safety of fish caught by family and friends in
local lakes, rivers, and coastal areas. If no advice is available,
these groups can eat up to 6 ounces per week of fish caught from local
waters, but they should not consume any other fish during the week.
“Fish and shellfish are an important part of a
healthy diet,” Dr. David Acheson, chief medical officer and director of
food safety and security at FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied
Nutrition, said at press conference sponsored by the FDA and EPA.
A diet of fish and shellfish contributes to
cardiovascular health and to children’s proper health and development,
Dr. Acheson said, and the new advisory guides women and children with
advice on how to continue to eat fish while minimizing risks from
methylmercury.
Fish and shellfish with higher levels of mercury
can harm a fetus or young child’s developing nervous system, but the
risks depend on the amount of fish eaten and the levels of mercury,
according to the FDA.
The joint advisory was praised by the National
Consumers League (NCL). “In light of today’s heightened concern with
nutrition and obesity, it is important that consumers not be scared away
from foods that are safe and healthy for the majority of us,” said NCL
president Linda Golodner. “It is critical that consumers feel confident
in selecting fish and seafood as part of their diet in lieu of higher
fat, higher cholesterol, and higher calorie meats.
But the new advisory is also stirring up
controversy. H. Vas Aposhian, Ph.D., a tempory member of the FDA Food
Advisory Committee, resigned from the committee the day the advisory was
issued. Dr. Aposhian, professor of molecular and cellular biology at
the University of Arizona in Tucson, told this newspaper that he
resigned in protest because he felt that albacore tuna should have been
on the list of fish and seafood to avoid.
And some consumer and environmental groups say the
joint advisory does not go far enough. The Environmental Working Group
(EWG) said the FDA’s advice to eat 6 ounces of albacore tuna a week is
unsafe. EWG instead recommends that women of childbearing age and
children under age 5 years avoid canned albacore tuna because of high
mercury levels.
The National Center for Policy Research for Women &
Families agreed that the advisory was not cautious enough but offered
different recommendations. Consumption of canned albacore tuna should
be limited to once or twice a month, said the center’s president, Diana
Zuckerman, Ph.D.
Light canned tuna is a better alternative because
it contains about a third of the level of mercury in albacore, she
said. But even light tuna should be limited to about 6 ounces a week,
Dr. Zuckerman said.
The announcement marks the first time that the FDA
and EPA have issued a joint advisory on mercury in fish and shellfish.
Previously, FDA has issued advisories on commercially caught fish while
EPA has handled issues related to recreationally caught fish.
In 2002, the FDA’s Food Advisory Committee
recommended that the FDA and the EPA coordinate their mercury advisories
on commercial and recreational fish and specifically address canned
tuna.
The two agencies issued a draft joint advisory on
mercury in fish late last year. The draft was revised based on feedback
from the Food Advisory Committee and the results of focus group testing.
The joint FDA / EPA advisory is
available online at
http://www.epa.gov/ost/fish. |
