Environmental attorney Sanders says FDA draft report recommends pregnant women and children eat more seafood despite health risks from mercury.

The U.S. Food& Drug Administration (“FDA”) is urging amendment of a 2004 mercury advisory that warns women and children to limit how much fish they eat, saying that the benefits of seafood outweigh the health risks. According to the FDA’s new approach, people should eat more fish, even if it contains mercury.

That is a whopping 180-degree-change in the federal agency’s position. Currently, the government warns that women of childbearing years, pregnant women, nursing mothers, infants and children, can be harmed by mercury in fish and should limit their consumption.

Mercury occurs naturally in the environment and it can also be released into the air through industrial pollution. Mercury falls from the air and can get into surface water, accumulating in streams and oceans.

Bacteria in the water cause chemical changes that transform mercury into methylmercury that can be toxic. Fish absorb methylmercury from water as they feed on aquatic organisms. Methylmercury is the most toxic form of mercury to humans.

In its draft report, FDA proposes to update the existing health advisory. The report claims that nutrients in fish, including omega-3 fatty acids, selenium and other minerals could boost a child's IQ. The greatest benefits, the FDA report said, would come from eating more than 12 ounces of fish a week, which is above the current limit advised for pregnant women, women of childbearing age, nursing mothers and young children.

1. Currently, the FDA and EPA make these three recommendations for selecting and eating fish or shellfish, women and young children will receive the benefits of eating fish and shellfish and be confident that they have reduced their exposure to the harmful effects of mercury.


2. Do not eat Shark, Swordfish, King Mackerel, or Tilefish because they contain high levels of mercury.


3. Eat up to 12 ounces (2 average meals) a week of a variety of fish and shellfish that are lower in mercury.
   

Five of the most commonly eaten fish that are low in mercury are shrimp, canned light tuna, salmon, pollock, and catfish. Another commonly eaten fish, albacore ("white") tuna has more mercury than canned light tuna. So, when choosing your two meals of fish and shellfish, you may eat up to 6 ounces (one average meal) of albacore tuna per week.

Check local advisories about the safety of fish caught by family and friends in your local lakes, rivers, and coastal areas. If no advice is available, eat up to 6 ounces (one average meal) per week of fish you catch from local waters, but don't consume any other fish during that week.

The FDA and the EPA have different roles in protecting the public from mercury contamination. EPA investigates and regulates mercury and other contaminants in recreationally caught fish, while the FDA regulates mercury in seafood sold in markets and restaurants. States rely on the federal agencies in issuing their own advisories.

Kentucky Fish and Wildlife and the Kentucky Division of Water issue advisories for eating recreationally caught fish in Kentucky. The current mercury advisory for fish is at http://fw.ky.gov/fishadvisory.asp?lid=900&NavPath=C101.