Monday's edition of the Bradenton Herald in Bradenton, Florida offers us evidence educated health professionals are getting the message that inflated concerns about mercury in seafood have been over-stated for years and are now passing along word that the latest science shows the greatest risk, when it comes to seafood, is not eating enough.
FDA released a comprehensive, rigorously peer-reviewed draft report
Today the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) publicly released a comprehensive, rigorously peer-reviewed draft report assessing the latest research on the effects of seafood on heart health and baby brain development. The report, currently posted on the FDA’s website, was reviewed by some of the most respected, independent scientists in the worlds of research, nutrition and health. The list includes doctors from Harvard University School of Public Health and a former Environmental Protection Agency official.
It has been five years since the Federal government last updated its seafood consumption advice. This report serves as strong evidence that it is time to review and revise that guidance.
A comprehensive assessment of the wider body of available seafood science has been a public priority of the FDA since 2006. We applaud the FDA for undertaking this important assessment and for presenting its work. Clear, independent efforts, like this one, on behalf of public health are an important part of improving what doctors, dietitians and consumers at large know about nutrition and health.
The National Fisheries Institute is pleased to see this important peer-reviewed science released to the public and we look forward to our own in-depth review of the report.
John Connelly
President, National Fisheries Institute
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.
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Contact Information:
Gavin Gibbons
(703) 752-8891
ggibbons@nfi.org
The environmental lobbying group Oceana has unfortunately turned to misinformation in an attempt to distract from the fact that responsible food communicators and registered dietitians have produced a well-researched piece of nutrition communication on pregnancy and seafood. Oceana's efforts are designed to decrease fish consumption and not improve public health. The science-based pregnancy and seafood flyer is an effort to get the latest ground truth science, including FDA advice as well as conclusions from more recently published independent studies, into the hands of targeted consumers.
Just last week NFI held its annual meeting and I had the pleasure of meeting with some really smart engaged communicators who understand the importance of getting the ground truth science about seafood into the hands of consumers. It is widely understood that with the latest and most balanced information in hand the public can determine for themselves what is misleading rhetoric and what is the truth.
There's an old newsroom saying, "If it bleeds, it leads." You know the one that claims violence, gore and conflict drives readership and viewership? It's the same one that relegates good news to a sub header below the fold or pushes it to a back page or even to the newsroom floor.
It's a fact, good news just doesn't make the same kind of waves that bad news does and when it comes to seafood that's never been more true.
In 2005 environmental reporter Michael Hawthorne published a series of sensationalized stories about mercury in seafood that ran under the shocking headline "The Mercury Menace" and warned of the "Toxic Risk on Your Plate" while insisting that the Government and industry were failing to protect consumers. It would appear that Mr.
Study results counter government advice for pregnant woman to limit fish
New research
to be published in the April issue of the American Journal of
Epidemiology adds to the groundswell of new, independent science that
shows moms who eat more than the U.S. government recommended amount of
fish during pregnancy have the brainiest babies.
The Harvard Medical School-led study followed over 300 mother-child
pairs to determine the effect on babies of eating different amounts of
fish during pregnancy. Moms who fueled up on more than two servings of
fish per week during their second trimester of pregnancy had
three-year-olds with the most advanced motor skills. Moms who limited
their seafood to two servings (12 ounces) of seafood per week, as
recommended by several U.S government agencies, saw no cognitive
benefit for their children when compared with other children whose
mothers ate more than 12 ounces of fish weekly during pregnancy.
“Even before this new study came out, there was significant
scientific evidence that moms should be encouraged to eat at least two
weekly servings of a variety of fish during pregnancy” said Mary A.
Harris, PhD, RD an expert in fetal nutrition from Colorado State
University. “Now the case is stronger yet that limiting the amount of
seafood you eat while pregnant can give your baby a disadvantage from
day one. The tide is beginning to turn from a focus on trace amounts of
mercury to the overall beneficial effects of eating fish.”
Results show pregnant women who ate more fish, naturally, had higher
mercury levels. Nonetheless, researchers observed no overall adverse
outcomes among children whose moms ate the most fish. These findings
are consistent with a 2007 landmark study of nearly 12,000 mothers and
children in the United Kingdom. Researchers with the National
Institutes of Health found optimal child development among mothers who
ate more than 12 ounces of seafood per week, suggesting that government
advice to limit seafood consumption could be detrimental. Similarly, research
published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition recently found
the typical American diet, low in seafood, is deficient in omega-3
fatty acids and may pose a risk to babies’ developing eyes and brains.
This new science comes at a time when women are confused about the
benefits and misinformed about the concerns of eating fish, which
contributes to seafood-deficient diets. Inadequate intake of fish is
confirmed by data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination
Survey (NHANES), which shows 90 percent of women are consuming fish
less than twice a week.
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) 752-8891
