Study shows draft EPA/FDA mercury fish advice not protective nor beneficial enough

EWG and MPP received extensive media coverage after releasing results measuring mercury hair levels in over 250 women who eat two or more seafood meals per week, the amount EPA/FDA recommend.  Testing indicates 29% exceed the EPA guideline for mercury exposure during pregnancy (1 ppm) and 59% exceed a more protective upper limit of 0.58 ppm recommended by scientists. Tuna was a major source of participant’s mercury exposure (40% of estimated ingestion) which is consistent with MPP’s (now updated) analysis, using FDA’s data, which shows tuna accounts for 45% of mercury in the US seafood supply.  Notably only 17% of the mercury in participants’ diets was from species identified in EPA/FDA’s draft advice, which  is incomplete because it fails to provide enough detail about which mercury-laden species to limit or avoid (i.e. tuna)  and which are low in mercury and higher in omega-3s.