by Marion Nestle
Dec 16 2008

FDA says it’s OK for women and children to eat more fish (oops)

The Washington Post says the FDA has breached the policy on fish consumption that it worked out with the EPA in 2004 and now proposes – in the last days of the Bush administration and without discussing the matter with EPA –  to increase the amount of fish considered safe for women and children.   Why?  Because, it says, the benefits of omega-3s in fish outweigh the risks of methylmercury contamination.  The EPA and environmental groups that work on fish safety are outraged, and with good cause, I’d say.  Check out the arguments.  You know this is about politics (translation: support of the fisheries industry) when the FDA says this is “science-based” policy (always a dead giveaway) and the Environmental Working Group says the FDA is nothing more than a “patsy for polluters.”