Oprahs Doc Gets an Education

As promised I contacted uber-famous Oprah Doc Mehmet Oz about his suggestion that consumers avoid some canned food because of BPA levels (that plastic stuff youve read about in baby bottles ect.)

Well, his suggestions didnt take into account new Canadian research from Health Canadathat said, “to put this into perspective, the average Canadian would need to consume several hundred cans of food per day to reach the tolerable level established by Health Canada.”

So, I heard back from Dr. Oz and he thanked us for bring this to his attention and promised to include the Health Canada study in his research on this topic.

Thank you Dr. Oz.

NFIs letter to Dr. Oz:

June 26, 2008

Mehmet C. Oz, M.D., F.A.C.S.

NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia

177 Fort Washington Avenue

Suite 7-435
New York, NY10032

VIA Email

Dear Dr. Oz,

Heres an update on the very latest research on BPA and canned food.

I recently read your column titled How healthy is your plastic water bottle?, concerning the issues surrounding BPA, and in it you suggest that consumers shy away from canned tuna in order to avoid BPA contamination.

The good news is onMay 29th Health Canadareleased a statement aboutitsresearch in toBPA and canned foods and said, “none of the levels found in the testing exceed current Health Canada guidelines.”Health Canada went even further stating, “to put this into perspective, the average Canadian would need to consume several hundred cans of food per day to reach the tolerable level established by Health Canada.”

The Canadian researchers concluded by writing, “based on the scientific evidence available to date, Health Canada does not recommend that consumers make any changes to their dietary habits as a result of the occurrence of trace levels of BPA in canned foods.”

As a cardiologist you know the importance of ensuring that American get at least two servings of fish a week and that a Harvard study shows eating the recommended amount can reduce your risk of dying from a heart attack by 36%. May I suggest that with this latest information in mind an addendum to you column may be in order?

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,Gavin Gibbons

National Fisheries Institute