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What the Experts Are Saying

Recently, consumers have been faced with an abundance of conflicting information concerning the safety and benefits of eating canned tuna. To set the record straight, a number of prominent health authorities are speaking out - to stop the confusion. And to let all Americans know that seafood, such as canned tuna, is low in fat, high in protein, high in essential omega-3 fatty acids, and is absolutely safe to eat.

Here's what the experts are saying:

"Fish and shellfish are an important part of a healthy diet. Fish and shellfish contain high-quality protein and other essential nutrients, are low in saturated fat, and contain omega-3 fatty acids. A well-balanced diet that includes a variety of fish and shellfish can contribute to heart health and children's proper growth and development. So, women and young children in particular should include fish or shellfish in their diets due to the many nutritional benefits."

— U.S. Food and Drug Administration & U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

"Omega-3 fatty acids benefit the heart of healthy people, and those at high risk of — or who have — cardiovascular disease. We recommend eating fish (particularly fatty fish) at least two times a week. Fish is a good source of protein and doesn't have the high saturated fat that fatty meat products do."

— American Heart Association

"Prospective studies that have explored n-3 fatty acids and their effect on cardiovascular risk in women suggest that a high intake of fish is associated with a reduced risk of total stroke or thrombotic stroke and a reduction of sudden cardiac death."

— American Dietetic Association

"Fish is an excellent source of high-quality protein and other nutrients. But we also incorporate the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisories, telling pregnant women they should not eat certain fish with high levels of mercury during pregnancy. That includes shark, swordfish, king mackerel and tilefish."

— American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists

"Although no single food alone can make a person healthy, eating more seafood is one way that most of us can help improve our diets—and our health. Many of the studies about beneficial omega-3 fatty acids focus on fish as the primary source. Salmon, sardines, tuna and even shellfish are rich in omega-3 fatty acid content, but increasing your consumption of all types of fish and seafood is recommended."

— International Food Information Council

"Mercury is bad and fish is good. We needed to choose the right words that would give people a sense of knowledge without creating unwarranted fear." (Regarding EPA/FDA mercury-in-fish advisory)

— Michael Leavitt U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services

"I think what we have in the (2004 EPA/FDA) advisory is good public-health advice."

— Rita Schoeny, Ph.D. EPA Senior Scientist

"I haven't seen science that a single serving of a higher level would be of concern. Mercury is very much a chronic-exposure concern. You build up the levels in the blood, and that seems to be the problem...We are not aware of any science that would indicate that having an occasional meal at that level would cause any harm."

— David Acheson, M.D. FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition

"The message of fish being good has been lost and people are learning more about the hypothetical scare of a contaminant than they are of the well-documented benefits of coronary disease reduction. The dangers of the tuna fish is not well documented compared to the potential dangers for a 50-year-old male or female who are at much higher risk of coronary death."

— Eric Rimm, Sc.D. Harvard School of Public Health

"It is also important to stress that how the U.S. regulates mercury in fish is the most stringent in the world. In large fish-consuming countries like Japan, studies find that women and their offspring aren't at risk by exceeding the U.S. regulatory standard. That is because we build in a 10-fold safety factor, meaning that if pregnant women and young children follow the government's advice, they will consume mercury levels that are at least 10 times lower than the lowest level for any known risk."

— Louis Sullivan M.D. Former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services President Emeritus, Morehouse School of Medicine

"Consistent with its mission and practice, FDA has studied carefully the issue of methylmercury in fish for more than twenty-five years and has developed substantial expertise in analyzing both the scientific and consumer education aspects of the issue. Accordingly, FDA is uniquely qualified to determine how to advise consumers on the issue of methylmercury in fish."

"The objective of the 2004 FDA/EPA Advisory is to inform the target populations of women who may become pregnant, pregnant women, nursing mothers, and parents of young children as how to get the positive health benefits from eating fish and shellfish, while minimizing exposure to methylmercury. Although the DFA/EPA Advisory may reach people outside these populations, the advisory is targeted to these groups, is very specific that the consumption limitations are just for the target group, and reduces the risk of frightening people who are not at risk."

— Judge Robert Dondero Superior Court of the State of California, City and County of San Francisco, Decision, April 17, 2006 (Public Media Center v. Tri-Union Seafoods Case re: CA Proposition 65 and Labeling of Canned Tuna)

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