FOOD
SAFETY - Advice to pregnant women and nursing mothers
You may have heard about the advice
for pregnant or breast-feeding women regarding tuna fish.
The Foods Standards Agency has published a report, which suggests
there's a small risk to the unborn child or infant from 'mercury',
which can be found in the fish.
The FSA is advising certain women to limit the amount of tuna they
eat.
On Your Behalf has been following
the story and asks who should and who shouldn’t be eating
tuna?
This advice from the Food Standards Agency follows on from an announcement
it made last year.
Listeners may remember last May that the FSA recommended women
who are pregnant or breast-feeding NOT to eat shark, swordfish
and marlin, because of the high levels of mercury found in these
types of fish.
Since then, a team of scientists has been investigating mercury
levels in the similar, but much more commonly eaten fish, tuna.
And they've found that the amount of mercury in tuna IS cause for
some concern.
It's not unusual to find mercury in fish?
Nearly all fish contain 'traces' of mercury, and in most, this
isn't a problem. But certain fish, like tuna, contain 'relatively'
higher levels of mercury. This doesn't present a problem to most
people. But we're now told that if you're a woman who is pregnant,
or indeed a woman who is planning to get pregnant, or you're
a mother who's breast-feeding then it's worth taking some precautions
when eating tuna. This is because of possible risks, from the
mercury in the fish, to the developing nervous system of an unborn
child or infant.
Tuna is very handy for a sandwich, salad or jacket potato - is
the Food Standards Agency telling these women not to go near the
stuff?
The new advice for mums-to-be and women who are breast-feeding
is to 'cut back' on the amount of tuna they eat. And the FSA is
quite precise on this. It suggests these groups of women eat no
more than two medium-sized cans of tuna or one fresh tuna steak
a week.
The FSA's previous advice about shark, marlin and swordfish, remains
the same. Pregnant and breast-feeding women are told to avoid these
fish completely.
Does mercury in fish pose a problem to children or the elderly,
for example?
To children yes. Under-16s are advised to avoid shark, marlin and
swordfish. But tuna is fine for them, so mums and dads who send
their children to school with packed lunches can heave a sigh of
relief.
There's no specific advice
for older people, but the experts say high levels of mercury
can affect anyone. So, we're all told NOT
to eat more than one portion of swordfish, shark or marlin a week.
This recommendation was given extra backing when
the British Heart Foundation was involved in a study into mercury
levels in these fish. This research suggested there could be a
direct link between mercury and heart disease.
But the general advice seems
to be that tuna is fine for everyone, except those groups of
women, who need to 'limit'
their intake.
What’s
the advice for pregnant and breast-feeding women, who may be
worried about
the
amount of tuna they've been eating?
The Food Standards Agency
says these women aren't to worry. The chances are that they're
'unlikely' to have caused their unborn
child or infant any harm. But, to be on the safe side, the recommendation
is that these women start to reduce the amount of tuna they eat.
If you like fish, and let's face it, we're always being told to
eat more of it, then don't despair, there are plenty of alternatives
to good old tuna for these women - haddock, trout and salmon to
name a few.
Where do people go if they want to get full details of these recommendations?
Food Standards Agency
NI Tel: 028 9041 7711 or
visit their website.
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