Senators Asks FDA For Comprehensive Review And Assessment f Existing Measures To Protect Consumers From Mercury

October 08, 1999

WASHINGTON -- Citing the potential health risks of mercury-contaminated fish to Americans, two senior U.S. senators have asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to review the sufficiency of measures the agency has in place to alert the public to threats of mercury-contaminated foods and to protect vulnerable consumers.

The two senators, Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), in their letter to Donna Shalala, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, noted that at least 1.6 million Americans are potentially at risk from food contaminated by mercury pollution.

"The health threats posed by mercury, particularly to pregnant women and children, are well-documented," said Leahy, a longtime advocate of stricter mercury pollution controls and author of a comprehensive mercury pollution bill. "I'm not at all suggesting that consumers avoid fish, but we need to make sure that there are effective safeguards in place to measure and warn the most vulnerable Americans of possible mercury threats. States have moved rapidly to respond to the health threats posed by mercury. We need to put the federal government on notice as well."

"FDA needs to review its policy on advising vulnerable Americans about the potential risks of mercury contamination," Harkin, who is the Ranking Democrat on the Senate Agriculture Committee, said. "We want to make sure that all reasonable steps are taken to assure consumers that the fish they buy meet safety standards and that consumers have the information they need to make informed choices about their diets."

Harkin and Leahy have asked the FDA for detailed information on the agencies' efforts to monitor mercury levels in commercially caught fish, including fish processed outside of the United States. The senators asked what measures the FDA has in place to provide consumers with information on mercury-contaminated fish, particularly those segments of the population that are most at risk from the adverse neurological effects that can result from exposure to mercury. They also asked the FDA whether its current threshold levels regarding mercury contamination are sufficient to protect at-risk consumers.

[A copy of the senators' letter is available upon request.]