Consumer Reports Magazine Recommends Pregnant Women Limit Tuna Consumption

Main Category: Pregnancy / Obstetrics
Also Included In: Nutrition / Diet
Article Date: 10 Jun 2006 - 15:00 PDT

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The not-for-profit group Consumers Union in the July issue of Consumer Reports magazine recommends a tuna-free diet for pregnant women, the Chicago Tribune reports. The recommendations are based on data released by FDA and a Tribune investigative series published last year on the amount of mercury in fish (Hawthorne, Chicago Tribune, 6/5). The testing, conducted by FDA, indicated that 6% of the samples taken from canned light tuna between 2001 and 2005 contained high levels of mercury, which can increase risks of health problems in pregnant women and in children. High levels of mercury -- which accumulates in the environment, as well as in the flesh of fish and the bodies of those who eat fish -- have been shown to contribute to birth defects and other health problems, and several studies have demonstrated a subtle loss of mental acuity in the offspring of women who consume fish during pregnancy. FDA and Environmental Protection Agency issued warnings in 2005 that advise young children, pregnant women, nursing mothers and women of childbearing age to avoid consuming swordfish, king mackerel, shark and tilefish because of high mercury levels. The warning also recommends that those groups eat no more than 12 ounces of fish weekly and eat no more than six ounces of canned albacore tuna weekly (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 1/30). Because of mercury concerns, Consumers Union also advises pregnant women not to consume Chilean sea bass, halibut, American lobster and Spanish mackerel.

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The Consumers Union's recommendations might be bad for public health, Louis Sullivan, former HHS secretary and now a consultant for the U.S. Tuna Foundation, said, adding, "I don't know of any science that supports what [Consumers Union is] saying." FDA officials said the agency does not plan to warn people that some cans of light tuna contain high amounts of mercury because the average level of mercury in canned light tuna is low. "What we're striving to do is strike a balance between the benefits of eating fish and the harmful effects of mercury," David Acheson, FDA's chief medical officer, said. However, Jean Halloran, the director of food policy at Consumers Union and a member of an FDA advisory panel on mercury in seafood, said, "This is important information that women need to hear," adding, "We think that high exposures, even for a day or two, could be too much of a risk" (Chicago Tribune, 6/5).

ABCNews' "Good Morning America" on Tuesday reported on the study. The segment includes comments from Joshua Cohen, senior research associate at the Institute for Clinical Research and Health Policy Studies at Tufts-New England Medical Center; Eli Saddler, public health analyst for GotMercury.org; and Daphne Zuniga, an actor who is receiving treatment for mercury poisoning (Leamy, "Good Morning America," ABCNews, 6/6). Video of the segment is available online.

In addition, NPR's "All Things Considered" on Tuesday included an interview with Urvashi Rangan, senior scientist with Consumer Reports and toxicologist for the study (Block, "All Things Considered," NPR, 6/6). The complete segment is available online in RealPlayer.

"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.