The FDA is reconsidering the benefits of fish as food. According to health experts, its benefits outweigh the mercury risks.

The FDA is advocating fish consumption despite the mercury concerns. This means a reversal in the FDA policy over fish which had prohibited children, pregnant and nursing women due to mercury ingestion.

The Washington Post states that the FDA’s report stresses on the nutritive value of the seafood—such as omega-3 fatty acids and selenium which can increase a child’s IQ scores by three points.

It also states that in order to get maximum benefits more than 12 ounces of fish should be consumed weekly. 

However, scientists at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) criticized the FDA saying the recommendations are “scientifically flawed and inadequate” and that the FDA fell short of the “scientific rigor routinely demonstrated by EPA.” 

Meanwhile, MarketWatch.com is reporting that the Consumers Union is “deeply disturbed” due to the FDA’s move to relax its current fish-consumption recommendations for so-called “vulnerable” groups. It has been scientific observation that mercury from food can cause neurological and behavioral effects, specifically on the developing nervous systems of fetuses and young children.

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