Can you trust the FDA (Food and Drug Administration)?  Have they become unable to tell the public the truth due to concerns about the economic ramifications of their statements? 

For example, it is now common knowledge (although you can't say I didn't warn you years ago) that margerine is deadly due to the hydrogenated oils.  Yet it's still on the shelves. 

To quote Cory Doctorow of BoingBoing.net from his review of the book, In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan: "He explains how nutritionism has captured politics, so that the FDA isn't allowed to say, "Eat less red meat," but is backed into saying, "Make eating choices that are lower in saturated fats," prompting an industry to spring up around further industrialization of food to remove saturated fats. Nevermind that the science says, "Eat less red meat" -- by demonizing a nutrient, a blow to the cattle-ranchers is turned into an opportunity to create even greater markups on their product by charging a premium for engineered, "low in saturated fats" beef."

Another concern is Mercury.  Oceana tested fish and guess what they found?

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Mercury: a dangerous neurotoxin that enters the environment as a result of burning coal and producing chlorine. Although volcanoes and other natural sources contribute to mercury’s pervasive nature, two thirds of the mercury present in our environment is a result of human activities. Once released into the air, mercury is deposited back onto land and water. 

Bacteria then convert mercury to toxic methylmercury that is absorbed or consumed by small plants and animals, which are then eaten by larger animals including fish.  Fish consumption is the primary way humans are exposed to mercury.

Methylmercury can damage critical organs of the central nervous and cardiovascular systems. Children are particularly vulnerable to mercury’s toxic effects.  Very high levels of mercury exposure in children can lead to brain damage, seizures, blindness and mental retardation.  

Mercury’s effects on adults can begin with increasing the risk of heart disease to a tingling sensation in the fingers.  People often do not associate their symptoms with mercury poisoning because the effects are often very subtle. As a result,many people may continue to eat fish with high mercury levels, worsening the problem. Nervous system problems can include impaired coordination, tremors, irritability, memory loss, depression, blurred vision and a tingling sensation in the skin. Other symptoms include fatigue, nausea, headache, decreased concentration and muscle or joint pain.  Trust me, these words don't do it justice.  If you've ever seen mercury poisoning in real life as I have, you would be very frightened. 

Tuna is the primary source of mercury in the American diet due largely to high levels of tuna consumption despite the reportedly moderate levels of mercury in tuna. While tuna comes in many forms, sushi tuna and fresh tuna steaks have recently sky-rocketed in popularity. These types of tuna unfortunately are the high mercury varieties, compared to the less glamorous canned light tuna which the FDA considers to be a low mercury fish.

To confirm that some fish are high in mercury and others are not, Oceana volunteers collected fish samples from grocery stores and sushi restaurants in 26 U.S. cities and had them analyzed to determine their mercury content. Some of the results may be surprising:

Mercury levels in tuna, sushi tuna, swordfish were HIGHER than FDA data suggest:

The average mercury concentration for grocery store tuna was 0.68 parts per million (ppm), which is nearly double the FDA’s average for fresh or frozen tuna tested by the FDA.  Sushi tuna was even higher, with an average value of 0.86 ppm. This level of mercury is comparable to the level in king mackerel, a fish the FDA recommends that sensitive populations should avoid.

Very few (13%) seafood counter attendants could provide FDA advice when asked: When asked about the government’s advice for women thinking of having children, 87% of seafood counter attendants either indicated they did not know, or gave a wrong answer to shoppers. Only 13% of those asked gave the correct information to shoppers, and half of those respondents referred to either a posted warning sign or the internet to obtain the FDA advice. Clearly consumers cannot rely on seafood counter attendants for this information, demonstrating the importance of warning signs at the point of sale.

“Low mercury” tilapia is still a good option: The average mercury level in tilapia from this analysis was 0.08 ppm, well below the FDA “action/> level” of 1.0 ppm. This qualifies tilapia as a low-mercury fish. However, these levels are much higher than the average of the small number of fish(eight) tested by the FDA (0.01 ppm).

Mackerel or “Saba” is a good low mercury option for sushi eaters: Mackerel mercury levels were also generally low, with an average of 0.1 ppm.  King mackerel, which has high mercury levels and is on the FDA’s “Do Not Eat” list.

Take Action:

• Tell the FDA to Warn Consumers. The FDA and EPA have issued an advisory directing women of child-bearing age and children to avoid or limit consumption of certain fish because of high levels of mercury. Unfortunately, this warning is not well-publicized. Help us get this advice posted at your grocery store's seafood counter so that shoppers can find out how to protect their families.



• Sign Oceana's open letter to FDA Commissioner Dr. Andrew C. von Eschenbach today and tell him that consumers need more information about the risks posed by mercury contamination in seafood, not less! 



• Download Oceana's Guide to Ocean-Friendly Seafood, which includes flags on high-mercury fish.



• Do you have high mercury levels? Get a hair test.   Oceana is partnering with Greenpeace in a national hair-testing study to find out how much mercury is in people's systems. Thousands of people are already participating. Find it how much mercury you are carrying around with you and how that compares to federally accepted levels of concern!
  Click here to order your personal test kit.  Within a couple of weeks, the kit will arrive with step-by-step directions.



In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan