mercury

Brain Boost for Babies Found ‘In Spite of Methyl-Mercury in Most If Not All Fish’ May 28, Washington, D.C. – Two of the world’s top experts on brain health are calling on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to update its 2004 advice on fish and pregnancy because it is out of date and may be “inadvertently causing harm.”  The extraordinary request came in the form of an open letter and petition from Professors Thomas Brenna of Cornell University and Michael Crawford of London Metropolitan University to FDA Commissioner, Dr. Margaret Hamburg that was posted online."[A] consistent stream of new publications and international scientific evaluations has persuaded us that this advice has become outdated and that it may be inadvertently causing harm, inconsistent with your public health mission,” the letter states.  “We commend FDA for its history of willingness to modify that advice when warranted by new information.  The time for the next update has come."Brenna and Crawford have created an online petition where interested parties can add their signatures to the letter.“NFI applauds Professors Brenna and Crawford for their foresight in calling for an update to the advice,” said NFI President John Connelly.  “Over the past six years the scientific community has produced a wealth of evidence supporting the fact that the real risk to pregnant women and unborn children is that they aren’t eating enough fish.  We’re happy to add our signatures to the petition and urge members of the public to join us.”According to Brenna and Crawford, science had not advanced enough by 2004 to properly consider the full health benefits of eating fish. "[I]t is no longer consistent with the recommendation to limit consumption of all fish to a maximum of 12 ounces per week for pregnant and lactating women and women who may become pregnant," according to the letter.   "There is persuasive new evidence that consumption of more than 12 ounces per week of most marketplace species will actually improve fetal neurodevelopment.  This improvement occurs in spite of methyl-mercury in most, if not all fish."The letter closes with a call to FDA to complete its work on a draft report it initially released in January 2009 that used a new method for measuring the net beneficial effect of seafood consumption.  For more than 60 years, the National Fisheries Institute (NFI) and its members have provided American families with the variety of sustainable seafood essential to a healthy diet. For more information visit: www.AboutSeafood.com. ### Contact Information:  Gavin Gibbons(703) 752-8891ggibbons@NFI.org

Seafood Community Joins Growing Chorus of Critics Taking Television Doctor to Task for Questionable Medical Advice June 1, 2010 Washington, D.C. – The National Fisheries Institute (NFI) is publicly challenging Dr. Mehmet Oz, host of the Dr. Oz Show, to correct a number of errors and distortions that he made concerning fish, nutrition and mercury on a recent episode of his show.  Earlier this year, NFI sent several letters to Dr. Oz pointing out, among others, the following errors contained in a program that was televised nationally on January 26, 2010 and is scheduled to be re-run on June 3, 2010:Dr. Oz told his viewers that mercury in fish was a concern for the general population, an assertion that is clearly contradicted by the advice of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that says, "for most people, the risk from mercury by eating fish and shellfish is not a health concern."Dr. Oz also incorrectly asserted that the methyl mercury found in seafood enters the food chain because of man-made pollution, when in fact those trace amounts are actually from sources like underwater volcanic activity.  A scientific fact recently buttressed by two rulings in the California courts that found that the vast majority of mercury in seafood was “naturally occurring.”Dr. Oz also interviewed activist Dr. Jane Hightower about her mercury-focused practice and her pet diagnosis of “fish fog,” but nowhere did he mention that there have been no cases of mercury poisoning, as the result of the normal consumption of commercial seafood., found in peer-reviewed medical journals in the U.S.Despite repeatedly bringing this to his attention, Dr. Oz refused to substantively answer NFI’s questions and instead responded with a letter from the program’s attorney. NFI joins a growing chorus of critics who are finding fault with many of the doctor’s methods.  An April 2010 profile in the New York Times Magazine observed that the pressures of producing a daily television show had led Dr. Oz to dispense “a chaotic bazaar of advice, not all of it equally reliable and important.”  Another article that appeared that same month in the Chicago Tribune concluded that, “Oz's ventures also offer advice unsupported by science.” For more than 60 years, the National Fisheries Institute (NFI) and its members have provided American families with the variety of sustainable seafood essential to a healthy diet. For more information visit: www.AboutSeafood.com.### Contact Information:  Gavin Gibbons (703) 752-8891ggibbons@NFI.org

If you follow this blog or fisheries news at all you know that overwhelming evidence has been piling up concerning the benefits of fish consumption during pregnancy and you might also know the joint 2004 FDA/EPA advisory on fish and pregnancy has caused immense confusion with consumers and desperately needs to be updated.

Imagine this; you hear your doctor dispensing questionable advice that you know contradicts the latest science and demonstrably confuses two distinctly different topics. So, you call him on it.What does he do?He excuses himself from the exam room and sends in his lawyer to tell you everything is oaky and that his recommendations have been thoroughly researched by a phantom staff of "research professionals."