Federal guidelines to protect women of child-bearing age and babies from mercury in seafood are inadequate, according to a report released yesterday by the Environmental Working Group and U.S. Public Interest Research Group. The groups said that the dietary guidelines established this year by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration were flawed in part because they were based on the risk assumptions for a 150-pound male, and that as many as one in four pregnant women could endanger the development of their children if they followed the guidelines. The report identified 13 types of fish that pregnant women should never eat, nine more than the feds were concerned about. Fresh tuna, shark, swordfish, and king mackerel all made the list. The FDA stood by its guidelines yesterday, and some food companies disputed the report.
