More warnings on seafood mercury requested

By Bob Condor
Chicago Tribune

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 (six-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 does.

"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 (in 1993) showing albacore tuna is higher in mercury."

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. The agency has 60 days to respond.

Although tuna is a fish high in healthful omega-3 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.

In 2001, the FDA put out a mercury advisory for pregnant women and small children to avoid eating shark, swordfish, king mackerel and tilefish. Eating 12 ounces of any other fish (two six-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 small children.

The FDA responded by suggesting the 12 ounces of fish should come from a variety of species, not just the inexpensive, convenient can of tuna. The federal agency also has cautioned that albacore "generally" contains more mercury than light tuna does.

Here are some suggestions, extracted from two days of hearings before an FDA panel:

• 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.
• Move 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 light tuna on the low-caution list.

Varieties of seafood with the lowest level of mercury (more than one meal per week) include salmon, shrimp, farm-raised catfish and trout, flounder, sole, perch and scallops.

Another 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 do more harm in developing bodies.

Some also have called on the government to be more demanding about the source of the seafood, including information about where it was caught and the weight of the fish (larger fish can store mercury more readily than smaller fish can).

FDA officials said at the hearing that the agency hopes to issue revised mercury and fish warnings by spring.

"The panel raised many 'what about the rest of us?' issues," said Houlihan. "There is some research showing people with cardiovascular risk might be adversely affected by eating tuna (and other seafood) with mercury content. It makes a lot of sense to know as much as we can, and for the government to be clear about it."