Want to know how much mercury is in your tuna salad? Don't ask the FDA.

[Guest guest]

Fishing For Answers

 

 

Anne Harding is an independent journalist who writes on health, medicine and the

environment.

 

Want some straight information about the harm posed by mercury being emitted

from power plants? Don't ask the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA's new

rule regulating coal-burning power plants falls far short of what experts

believe is necessary to protect public health. Written using key language

provided by utility lobbyists, the rule is drawing criticism at a level not seen

since the EPA withdrew its arsenic standards for drinking water three years ago.

Opponents complain that the new rule leaves children vulnerable to the harmful

effects of mercury pollution.

 

But breathing polluted air is not the only way mercury is transmitted. Mercury

pollutes water and thus the fish that swim in it, which involves another federal

agency. And if you want accurate information on how much mercury you're getting

in your tuna salad sandwich, don't ask the Food and Drug Administration. Even

though the agency's own tests have found potentially harmful levels of this

brain-damaging contaminant in canned tuna, the FDA still says tuna is safe,

putting pregnant women and kids at risk.

 

Like the EPA, the FDA is also shortchanging public health in favor of business

interests. The FDA is staying mum on tuna risk specifics because it meets

regularly with representatives of the tuna industry to hone­or dull­its message

to the public, says Jane Houlihan of the Environmental Working Group.

 

Despite challenges from a number of environmental groups­and a scolding from the

FDA's own Food Advisory Committee­the advice the agency gives women on eating

tuna during pregnancy remains vague, even condescending. Moms-to-be seeking

information will read this on the FDA's Web site:

 

" Tuna is one of the most frequently consumed fish in the United States. Mercury

levels in tuna vary. Tuna steaks and canned albacore generally contain higher

levels of mercury than canned light tuna. You can safely include tuna as part of

your weekly fish consumption. "

 

These guidelines tell us that Americans eat a lot of tuna, that some kinds of

tuna have more mercury than others, and that it's OK to eat tuna every week

while you're pregnant. Something's a little fishy here. It might all be true, of

course; but how about some specifics? Say, a pregnant woman can eat one

six-ounce can of chunk light tuna every couple of weeks, but should only treat

herself to a tuna steak once a trimester?

 

The truth is that canned white or albacore tuna­the more expensive stuff­has

much higher levels of mercury than the cheap stuff, chunk light. In fact, an

analysis of FDA test results by the EWG found mercury levels in canned albacore

exceeding those found in tilefish, one of the four species on the FDA's " do not

eat during pregnancy " list.

 

Specifics are clearly needed. According to EWG, if every pregnant woman followed

FDA guidelines on what's safe and ate one six-ounce can of albacore tuna each

week, 99 percent would exceed safe mercury blood levels for their entire

pregnancy.

 

It's not that the FDA doesn't have the information. The agency has done

extensive testing of canned tuna and has a good idea of how much mercury the

fish contains. Based on these figures and Environmental Protection Agency

standards­which are actually designed to protect human health and can be

tailored to individuals­it just takes a little math to figure out how much tuna

a pregnant woman can safely eat.

 

Clearly mercury affects each of us differently. One in six U.S. women of

childbearing age carries levels of mercury in her blood that could lead to fetal

neurological damage if she did become pregnant, EPA scientists reported in

February. If you are that one in six, it's particularly important for you to

limit your intake of certain types of seafood if you're pregnant, thinking of

getting pregnant or even of childbearing age. Body weight affects mercury levels

too; people who weigh less will see mercury and other contaminants collect in

their blood at a faster rate. The FDA's one-size-fits-all advice doesn't take

any of this into account.

 

The FDA notes in an overview of the draft that the guidelines already been

vetted by eight focus groups in four U.S. regions, and modified based on the

focus groups' feedback " so that is more easily understood. "

 

But in trying so hard to make its guidelines understandable to everyone, the FDA

has made them meaningful to no one, and insulting to our intelligence to boot.

 

While we know that fish is good for women to eat during pregnancy­it's rich in

nutrients that are good for both mom and baby­we also know that in our polluted

world, seafood can contain lots of stuff that's bad for mom and baby too. People

understand risks and tradeoffs, and need some concrete advice they can actually

act on.

 

An independent FDA advisory committee agreed when it reviewed the draft, sending

the FDA back to the drawing board to come up with something more specific­and

more easily understandable to consumers. To date, the agency's still working on

its advice.

 

EWG and a number of other environmental groups are stepping in to fill the tuna

information gap. Environmental Defense just released comprehensive Health Alert

charts on fish safety for adults and children that take into account levels of

contamination with mercury, PCBs and other pollutants. The Natural Resources

Defense Council offers people a six-month plan for lowering their mercury levels

and a chart showing how much tuna is safe to eat per week based on your body

weight. EWG has a tuna safety calculator on its Web site. The Children's

Environmental Health Coalition also spells out fish safety specifics for kids

and women of childbearing age and describes preparation techniques that can

reduce PCB and dioxin levels in fish dishes. And the Mercury Policy Project is

helping to lead the charge on this issue.

 

But the fact remains that most people­including pregnant women and the doctors

advising them­will look to the FDA for information on fish safety. The agency

needs to be up to the task. Let's hope that when FDA comes back from the drawing

board this time around, which is expected to be soon, we'll see some real,

useful advice on how to reap the benefits of fish during pregnancy, safely, and

how to feed our children seafood without putting them at risk. And while we're

at it, how about a rollback of the new EPA rule on mercury and a sincere effort

by the White House to cut off mercury pollution at its main source: coal-burning

plants

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