Report: Few stores warn of fish mercury

By VICKI SMITH

MORGANTOWN, W.Va.

West Virginia is one of four states where not a single grocery store warns consumers of the possible dangers of mercury in fish, even though that could help lead to wiser choices, an environmental group said Tuesday.

Oceana, a Washington, D.C.-based activist group, issued a report concluding that fewer than 20 percent of the nation's grocery stores are posting in-store warnings about mercury.

West Virginia, Mississippi, Alabama and North Dakota all have zero in-store warnings, the report says, while Hawaii, the District of Columbia and Alaska are doing the best job of educating consumers.

Jackie Savitz, director of Oceana's Campaign to Stop Seafood Contamination, said that while some of the nation's largest grocers are posting Food and Drug Administration recommendations in stores, "many consumers, especially in the Eastern U.S., still are not getting the message."

"We hope that soon the remaining companies will recognize how easily they can protect their customers health," she said.

Mercury is a toxic metal that can cause nerve damage in humans and is particularly dangerous to children, developing fetuses and women of childbearing age.

Methylmercury, a form commonly found in fish, is the type most likely to cause health problems. Some studies suggest that coal-burning power plants are the major source of mercury emissions in the United States.

The FDA and the Environmental Protection Agency have focused on ocean fish, recommending that children and women who are pregnant, nursing or of childbearing age avoid four species -- shark, king mackerel, swordfish and tilefish.

The federal government also recommends those women limit consumption of light tuna to 12 ounces per week and albacore tuna to 6 ounces per week. Albacore are larger, live longer and can accumulate more contaminants than other species.

Anne Forristall Luke, president of U.S. Tuna Foundation, said government studies consistently show that fish is an important component of a healthy diet, and that overall, Americans don't eat as much as they should.

Posting signs in stores might inadvertently alarm and confuse customers who have no need to worry, she said. The Tuna Foundation prefers that women, the targeted population, get their information from experts.

Oceana put 15 companies that do post signs on its "green list," including Safeway, Trader Joe's and Albertson's.

But most of the grocery chains that serve West Virginia were on the more than 50-member "red list," including Kroger, Food Lion, Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, IGA, Giant Eagle and Save-A-Lot.

Jeff Lowrance, spokesman for North Carolina-based Food Lion LLC, said there is no state or federal law requiring supermarkets to post such information.

Food Lion, which has more than 1,200 stores in 11 Southeast and Mid-Atlantic states, directs customers with questions to the FDA's Web site and toll-free number.

"We truly would prefer that the experts with the government provide that information," Lowrance said. It's the FDA that sets guidelines for consumption, "and it's important that consumers go to the best source of information."

Meghan Glynn, a spokeswoman for Ohio-based Kroger Co., said all of its stores must make information about mercury available near the area where seafood is sold. The brochures list information about methylmercury, FDA guidelines, a toll-free number and the FDA's food safety Web site.

Kroger is the nation's largest retail grocery chain with 2,343 stores in 31 states, including at least 47 in West Virginia.

Earlier this month, West Virginia public health officials recommended reducing mercury emissions and making the public more aware of mercury levels in fish.

They also want to know if West Virginians are exposed to mercury more than residents of other states and whether reducing mercury emissions will lower the levels in fish.

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On the Net:

West Virginia fish advisories: http://www.wvdhhr.org/fish/current.asp

FDA Food Safety: http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/lrd/seafsafe.html

Oceana: http://www.oceana.org/

Tuna Foundation: http://www.tunafoundation.org/