Seafood advisory
This article was originally published in November 2014
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has reversed a 2004 advisory that pregnant women should shun most seafood. It now says pregnant women should eat more fish, but only low-mercury fish such as salmon, sardines, anchovies and trout. The FDA also says canned light tuna is safe for pregnant or nursing women.
Consumers Union (CU), however, is advising pregnant and nursing women to avoid all tuna due to risks from mercury. When CU scientists analyzed FDA data, they found 20 percent of the light canned tuna samples contained nearly twice as much mercury as what the FDA reports as the average amount.