What's always interesting in the marketplace of free ideas is how there can be completely opposite conclusions on something as simple as finding out whether or not a tuna fish sandwich might kill you.
First, the tuna trade people announced:
Underscoring the safety of canned tuna for all Americans, new findings from the government's food safety agency --the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) -- confirm that canned tuna contains mercury levels that are very low and are considerably less than what the federal government allows, the United States Tuna Foundation (USTF) announced."FDA's latest findings about mercury levels in canned tuna should end the debate over whether canned tuna is a safe and healthy food for all Americans," said David Burney, USTF's Executive Director. "No one is at risk from the minute amounts of mercury in any form of canned tuna."
Then the Chicago Tribune and other news media reported:
Newly released government data provide the best evidence to date that some cans of light tuna--one of America's favorite seafoods--contain high levels of mercury.Testing by the Food and Drug Administration found that 6 percent of canned light tuna samples contained large amounts of mercury, a toxic metal that can cause learning disabilities in children and neurological problems in adults.
Then the tuna trade people said:
The U.S. Tuna Foundation today called the continuing series of reports in the Chicago Tribune irresponsible journalism designed to alarm the public about a healthy and popular food when all government studies in the U.S. and abroad confirm that canned tuna is a safe and nutritious food product....Although the testing data clearly show that the mercury levels in canned tuna products are well within the safe limits established by the FDA, the Tribune article attempts to extrapolate a different conclusion by selectively using only a small data sample.
And the Food & Drug Administration? As of now I can't find a dang thing on its web site or on the wires about this.
Perhaps you good people in government could take it upon yourself to tell us consumers what your tuna research is supposed to tell us? I'm making my groceries list for tomorrow.
Thanks.
.....
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