Consumer Reports: Pregnant Women Should Not Eat Canned Tuna; 'It's Prudent'

Consumer Reports: Pregnant Women Should Not Eat Canned Tuna; 'It's Prudent'

Source: Underwatertimes

6/5/2006

As a prudent measure, Consumer Reports is cautioning pregnant women to avoid canned tuna. The magazine's advice is based on an analysis of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) tests of mercury in fish posted recently on the agency's Web site.

CR's analysis of government data showed that six percent of the tested samples of canned light tuna, long recommended as the safer choice over white tuna (also known as albacore) because of its presumably lower mercury content, contained at least as much or more of that potentially harmful heavy metal as white tuna. One possible explanation is that some canned light tuna may contain yellowfin, which tends to have much more mercury than skipjack, the type usually found in cans labeled as light. Also, limited FDA data suggested that between chunk-light and solid- light tuna, the solid-light may contain more mercury, on average, than chunk-light.

"Based on the FDA's test results and the guidelines for acceptable levels of exposure to mercury set out by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), we believe that it's prudent for pregnant women to avoid canned tuna and for young children and women of childbearing age to limit consumption. Exposure to mercury from fish can result in small but measurable impairments in the neurological system, including such problems as eye-hand coordination and learning ability," says Dr. Marvin M. Lipman, Consumer Reports' Chief Medical Adviser.

"Fortunately, there is a wide variety of low-mercury seafood options that everyone can eat frequently as part of a healthy diet. Fish is an important source of protein and contains heart- protecting omega-3 fatty acids," adds Dr. Lipman.

In light of FDA's posted data and the EPA's reference dose for mercury in fish, CR's experts offer advice for the following groups of people:

Atlantic bluefin tuna

Continue...

News Id		Source	Stamp	country
1351	U.S. envoy visits Fukushima to eat fish, criticize China's seafood ban over wastewater release	yahoo	2023-08-31	JP
1352	NOAA Identifies Seven Nations for Illegal Fishing Activities in 2023 Report to Congress	gcaptain	2023-09-04	US
1353	US Accuses China Of Illegal Fishing, But China Says US Is Overfishing Tuna	thestkittsnevisobserver	2023-09-07	US
1354	Detective McDavitt and the Curious Case of the Clown Wedgefish	motherjones	2023-09-09	AU
1355	B.C. researchers say some fish surviving heat waves better than once thought	newwestrecord	2023-09-03	CA
1356	Fishing hook becomes lodged in hungry dog's throat	Fox News	2023-09-16	US
1357	Тихая осеняя рыбалка	ohotniki	2023-09-14	RU
1358	Another try to recover St. Louis River 'dinosaur fish'	echopress	2023-09-16	US
1359	Climate Change Takes Habitat From Big Fish, the Ocean's Key Predators	Associated Press	2023-09-14	US
1360	Приключения на реке Стрельна в Мурманской области	ohotniki	2023-09-08	RU
1361	Game and Fish stocks lake sturgeon fingerlings into the Pembina River	echopress	2023-09-15	US
1362	A recent study found that rivers are warming up and deoxygenating faster than oceans	eurekalert	2023-09-14	US
1363	Warren man sentenced after killing girlfriend's fish with bleach, vinegar	wfmj	2023-08-28	US
1364	Photographer Captures Rare Fish That Walks on its Hands	petapixel	2023-08-31	AU
1365	Lake Mohave water levels dropping to help endangered fish	Las Vegas Review-Journal	2023-08-31	US
1366	Court order fails to stop poison fishing in Bangladesh Sundarbans	mongabay	2023-09-01	BD
1367	Chile has 4,000 miles of coastline, but fish is scarce and expensive	elpais	2023-09-01	CH
1368	Beachgoer lures out huge worm from sand using fish	hindustantimes	2023-08-29	AU
1369	Florida researchers offering $50 to fishermen who catch this species of fish	Fox News	2023-09-12	US
1370	Ловля трофейной кумжи	ohotniki	2023-09-01	RU
1371	Tiny fish is reintroduced to the Pearl River	nola	2023-09-02	US
1372	14-year-old hooks wallet holding $2,000 while fishing	14news	2023-08-22	US
1373	CPW calls for 'emergency salvage' to remove all fish from Colorado alpine lake	denvergazette	2023-08-14	US
1374	Restoring Lake Victoria’s Ecology Could Help End Fish-For-Sex Culture	forbes	2023-08-21	CA
1375	Swedish man eats 13.85 ounces of fermented fish in one minute	upi	2023-09-10	SW