The American Medical Association (AMA), the national professional organization for all physicians in the United States, has adopted a resolution that includes the following recommendation:
"Given the limitations of national consumer fish consumption advisories, the Food and Drug Administration should consider the advisability of requiring that fish consumption advisories and results related to mercury testing be posted where fish, including canned tuna, are sold."
AMA was forced to recommend that FDA assess the issue of canned tuna warnings specifically because the federal government has refused to give the public sound advice on the safety of canned tuna.
In December 2003, the EWG filed a legal challenge under the Data Quality Act (DQA) seeking to block the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from issuing a weak proposed health advisory for mercury in seafood.
The DQA requires all influential statements by the federal government to be accurate, reproducible, clear and based on the best peer-reviewed science. The FDA's proposed mercury health advisory meets none of these criteria.
