NY Times: So Is Fish Safe to Eat or Not?

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So Is Fish Safe to Eat or Not?

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/23/opinion/23tue3.html?nl=8hlth & emc=hlth

Published: December 23, 2008

The federal government has been trying to persuade pregnant and

breast-feeding women to limit their intake of fish because of mercury

contamination. Now some federal scientists are arguing that these women

should actually increase their fish consumption. The behind-the-scenes

disagreement is fierce and raises serious questions for consumers.

The current official advice from the Food and Drug Administration and

the Environmental Protection Agency is that pregnant and nursing women

and young children can safely eat up to 12 ounces — roughly two servings

— of most fish a week, but should limit their intake of albacore tuna to

6 ounces a week and avoid entirely four species of fish containing high

levels of mercury.

Now the two agencies are at loggerheads over the two-serving limit. The

F.D.A. has circulated a draft report suggesting that the vast majority

of fetuses and infants would actually benefit if their mothers ate more

than two servings of fish a week because fish contain highly beneficial

nutrients that aid in brain development. The F.D.A.’s scientists argue

that those benefits outweigh any potential harm.

Those contentions are sharply disputed by specialists at the E.P.A. who

charged that the report had “serious scientific flaws,” relied on

questionable models and should not be used as a basis for

decision-making. That is a strong indictment that must be answered

before the public can place any confidence in the F.D.A.’s judgment.

Meanwhile, experts caution that consumers should choose from fish that

are low in mercury, such as shrimp, canned light tuna, salmon, pollock

and catfish.

Although the draft strikes some as another last-minute effort by the

Bush administration to weaken industry oversight, it can provide a

useful opportunity to review whether mercury warnings have gone too far

in driving women away from a potentially beneficial food source.

The report is still undergoing revision at the F.D.A., which pledges to

publish it for comment before deciding how to proceed. Only then will a

wide array of experts be able to tell if the final recommendations make

sense or are dangerously flawed.

--

ne Holden, MS, RD

" Ask the Parkinson Dietitian " http://www.parkinson.org/

" Eat well, stay well with Parkinson's disease "

" Parkinson's disease: Guidelines for Medical Nutrition Therapy "

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