The U.S. Food and Drug Administration wants to amend the federal government’s advisory that women and children should limit their consumption of fish because the health benefits outweigh any risks, even if the species contains mercury.
According to a report in the Washington Post, the FDA sent a draft report urging a reverse of current policy to the White House Office of Management and Budget, a copy of which was obtained by the newspaper.
The FDA and the EPA in 2004 issued a joint advisory urging a target group — women of childbearing age, pregnant women, nursing mothers, infants and children — should avoid eating swordfish, king mackerel, tilefish and shark and limit their consumption of canned white, or albacore, tuna because of the presence of methylmercury, a naturally occurring neurotoxin. Mercury can cause neurological damage and delay cognitive development in fetuses and infants; adults are at increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
The report argues that nutrients in fish, including omega-3 fatty acids, selenium and other minerals, could boost a child's IQ by three points. The greatest benefits, the FDA report said, would come from eating more than 12 ounces of fish a week, which is the current limit advised for the target group.
The Post reports that the recommendations have alarmed scientists at the Environmental Protection Agency, who in internal memos criticized them as "scientifically flawed and inadequate" and said they fell short of the "scientific rigor routinely demonstrated by EPA."
"This is a science-based approach," said Gavin Gibbons, a spokesman for the National Fisheries Institute in McLean, Va. "And you start to see a picture emerge that shows the clear benefits of eating seafood outweigh the risks of a trace amount of mercury in fish."
