Senators push FDA to issue seafood guidance for pregnant women

A bipartisan group of 29 senators is urging the Food and Drug Administration to finalize its guidance on how much fish is safe for pregnant women to eat.

The FDA had previously cautioned against pregnant women eating too much fish because of mercury levels that can harm fetal development. 

In June 2014, the agency issued a draft of updated guidance that kept in place certain limits but also recommended a minimum level of lower-mercury fish that pregnant women should eat to avoid missing out on certain nutrients. 

{mosads}The lawmakers, led by Sens. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) note that the guidance still has not been finalized, and they are pressing for that to happen quickly. 

“It is critical that FDA finalize its nutritional advice as soon as possible in a manner that is consistent with the latest science,” they wrote. 

The letter says medical professionals have indicated they are waiting for the final guidance before updating their recommendations to patients. 

“Further delays make it more difficult for pregnant women to make informed decisions about what to eat to provide their unborn children with the best possible start to life,” the lawmakers write. 

The senators also point out that the draft guidance might need to be updated. For example, they cite new recommendations that the current limit on eating white albacore tuna be re-evaluated. 

Lauren Sucher, an FDA spokeswoman, responded to the letter Friday by saying that the public comment period stayed open after the June draft until a public meeting could be held, which happened in November. The comment period ended March 26. 

She said the FDA and the Environmental Protection Agency are now “considering the public comments and whether to make appropriate modifications to the advice. The agencies expect this process to be completed in 2015.”

The FDA will also respond directly to the senators, she said.   

The draft FDA guidance recommends that each week pregnant women eat between 8 and 12 ounces of low-mercury fish, such as shrimp, pollock, salmon, canned light tuna, tilapia, catfish and cod. 

Tilefish from the Gulf of Mexico, shark, swordfish, and king mackerel are to be avoided.