June 10, 2014 — Whenever the federal government issues new advice on how we should eat, there’s never a shortage of criticism, and new advice counseling pregnant women and children to eat more fish is no exception. The US Food and Drug Administration and Environmental Protection Agency proposed a new dietary recommendation on Tuesday that tweaks — ever so slightly — their old advice on fish consumption.
Instead of telling women and young children to “eat up to 12 ounces a week of a variety of fish and shellfish that are lower in mercury,” the government would now like them to “eat 8 to 12 ounces of a variety of fish each week from choices that are lower in mercury.”
See the subtle difference? Government officials say they needed to set a minimum recommended amount, rather than just a maximum, because research suggests that the tide has turned too far against eating fish during pregnancy; most women restrict their intake or avoid it altogether because of concerns about the pollutant mercury — found in varying amounts in all fish — which can interfere with a baby’s brain development.
But the Environmental Working Group, a non-profit environmental activist group based in Washington, D.C., criticized the new advice for not being specific enough in identifying fish with rich amounts of brain-boosting omega-3 fats and minimal amounts of mercury.
“Consumers need precise, detailed information about foods that provide sufficient omega-3 fatty acids with minimal mercury contamination,” said the group’s senior analyst Sonya Lunder. “The FDA’s new guidelines fall far short of advice that would actually protect these vulnerable populations.”
An Environmental Working Group analysis released in January found that only salmon and canned albacore tuna contained enough omega-3 fats in a weekly 8-ounce serving to provide optimal health benefits during pregnancy. (But the analysis also found that albacore tuna had too much mercury in that amount for pregnant women to safely consume.)
Read the full story at the Boston Globe