Wasserman Schultz Methylmercury Protection Amendment Passes House – “My amendment protects the consumer’s right to know about mercury contamination in their food”
(Washington, DC) — Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-20) passed a methylmercury protection amendment to the National Uniformity for Food Act (HR 4167) this evening. HR 4167 would have preempted and precluded any state laws that are not identical to the Food and Drug Administration’s national statutes, including state fish and shellfish methylmercury notification laws that protect women and children from the poisonous toxin. The Wasserman Schultz amendment extends the exemptions in the bill to include state and local methylmercury labeling laws.
“My amendment protects consumers, particularly pregnant women and children, and their right to know about mercury contamination in their food,” said Rep. Wasserman Schultz. “Methylmercury is a health hazard that is on our dinner tables and in our children’s lunchboxes.”
Methylmercury exposure is toxic to the developing brain. Extreme pre-natal exposure can lead to child motor retardation and impaired memory, attention deficit, and undeveloped language skills.[1]
Methylmercury poisoning is a growing crisis in our country. When emitted from smokestacks and other sources, it drifts into our nation’s waters, and is absorbed by fish and shellfish. In 2004, 44 states had issued some type of methylmercury advisory.[2] “This is especially a problem for
While her amendment was successfully passed by the House of Representatives by a vote of 253 to 168, Rep. Wasserman Schultz ultimately voted against H.R. 4167 because it severely restricts states’ abilities to protect their residents from food adulterations and overburdens the FDA with a cumbersome state petition process for specific exemptions from the law.
In 2004, the Food and Drug Administration issued an advisory on how much fish potential mothers and children should be eating. “White albacore tuna has such high mercury content that just one can of tuna is the maximum amount of fish an adult should safely eat per week,” said Wasserman Schultz. “In fact, the FDA recommends that pregnant women completely stop eating larger predatory fish, such as swordfish, because the average methylmercury content per serving is so high that just one meal is unhealthy.”
While the federal government works with industry to reduce mercury pollution on a national level, states have begun to address current mercury levels. Many states now publish advisories, and
“By eliminating and preventing any additional state labeling laws, the National Food Uniformity Bill would have brought all of this to a screeching halt,” said Wasserman Schultz.
“I had never heard of methylmercury until I was pregnant for the second time, with my youngest child, who is now 2 ½ years old. My OB-GYN explained I should start limiting my fish intake immediately-particularly tuna. If I hadn’t received such good care, I never would have known,” said Wasserman Schultz.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that nearly eight percent of American women of childbearing age have blood mercury concentrations higher than the level considered safe by the EPA. [3]
Based on the CDC’s assumptions, EPA scientists have estimated that at least 300,000 newborns annually have been exposed to dangerously high maternal mercury blood levels[3]–placing them at risk for adverse neuro-developmental effects.