Also see: The FDA's Black Box
"FDA, EPA at odds on consumer warnings about fish" by Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Associated Press | December 13, 2008
WASHINGTON - For years, the federal government has recommended that pregnant women and young children limit their consumption of fish to avoid exposure to potentially harmful amounts of mercury.
Now, two top consumer protection agencies are at odds on whether that advice should be reconsidered to encourage all people to eat more fish, in order to promote healthy hearts.
This from the same people who swear up and down that autism isn't caused by mercury in the vaccines, huh? I just stopped eating fish!
The Food and Drug Administration has been circulating a draft report within the government that says the health benefits of eating fish outweigh the potential ill effects of mercury.
I think I'll just PASS on the FISH period! I don't like the idea of ANY POISON in my food -- and Lord knows there is enough in there already!!!
But the Environmental Protection Agency has fired off a memo to the White House calling the 270-page FDA study "scientifically flawed and inadequate" and an "oversimplification" lacking analytical rigor.
Well, when you work for the food and drug companies, that's gonna happen.
Environmental groups are crying foul. They say it's a sneak attempt to undercut important public health advice in the waning hours of a Bush administration that has treated science as a stepchild.
"The FDA was once a fearsome protector of the public health. Now it's nothing more than a patsy for polluters," Richard Wiles, executive director of the Environmental Working Group, said in a statement.
Yup, and their business agents, too!
The food industry is praising the FDA's shift. One organization, the Center for Consumer Freedom, called it "long overdue and a huge public-health victory" that "just might be the best Christmas present health-conscious Americans could hope for."
Maybe you wouldn't mind drinking a glass of the stuff then.
The interagency feud spilled into the open yesterday when the Environmental Working Group released copies of the dueling memos. The dispute was first reported by the
The FDA is embroiled in another controversy over the science of food safety. Recently, a panel of outside advisers challenged the agency on bisphenol A, or BPA, a chemical used to make plastic for food packaging and other consumers goods. The independent experts said that FDA's conclusion that low doses of BPA are safe was scientifically flawed...
Related: Getting Back to Glass
Yeah, I'm gonna eat whatever the FDA shovels at me.
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Mercury occurs naturally and is also released in the environment through pollution. Very high levels in the bloodstream can damage the nervous system of developing fetuses and young children, causing learning disabilities and other problems. Fish absorb mercury in the water and as they feed on plankton and other smaller fish. Some fish, like king mackerel and swordfish, accumulate higher levels of mercury.
Yeah, but WHO CARES about the mom and kids? We got $$$$$$$$ to make!!!!
Fish and shellfish are the biggest sources of human exposure to mercury. Fetuses and young children are the most susceptible to harm. About 8 percent of US women of childbearing age have enough mercury in their blood to be at risk of having babies with subtle learning disabilities, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates.
But EAT UP, mommy and baby -- or so says the GOVERNMENT that is "PROTECTING" YOU!
Because of such concerns, the FDA and EPA have recommended that women of child-bearing age and young children not eat shark, swordfish, king mackerel, or tilefish, which contain high levels of mercury. The agencies also advised that they eat no more than two meals a week of fish and shellfish that are lower in mercury, a total of 12 ounces. And since "white" albacore tuna has more mercury than chunk light tuna, they recommended no more than six ounces a week.
At this point, I would rather they NOT EAT ANY at all!!!!!
The FDA's draft report said the latest studies seem to indicate that the risks may not be as dire as previously thought. The agency also sought to weigh the risk of mercury against the benefits of eating more fish.
Yeah, THEY aren't going to be the ones eating it!!!
Current research suggests "a beneficial impact on fetal neurodevelopment from the mother's consumption of fish, even though they contain methylmercury," the report said.
Excuse me while I go throw up that tuna sandwich I had for lunch!!!
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Need more proof the FDA works for CORPORATIONS and AGAINST CHILDREN?
The first high-tech, long-acting treatment for hepatitis C in children, a two-drug combination from Schering-Plough Corp., has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Schering-Plough said the FDA had approved sales of a treatment combining its antiviral pill, Rebetol, with its PEG-Intron, an advanced, genetically engineered version of the immune system protein interferon, for children aged 3 to 17 infected with the hepatitis C virus. An estimated 130,000 American children are infected with hepatitis C, with most of them acquiring it from an infected mother while in the womb. --more--"
So when does it get pulled from the market?
Place your bets, place your bets!
