National Fisheries Institute

As the Louisiana sun beat down on the Westwego Seafood Market, the aisles were as empty as the coolers. Fish hawkers paced alongside sparsely filled counters dotted with shrimp and crabs, calling out in strained voices to the few customers strolling by. Many of the outdoor stalls were boarded up. There wasn't a single oyster to be had. Just a week ago, the market outside New Orleans was packed with crowds grabbing up shellfish for their...

Re "Scientists warn of toxic risk to fetuses," May 25 Women of childbearing age need to follow certain guidelines for food consumption to ensure the optimal health of their babies. But this article fails to mention recent studies from such authorities as the Institute of Medicine and the University of Bristol that examine the benefits associated with eating seafood -- a nutrient-dense protein, rich in omega-3 fatty acids -- during pregnancy. As a food scientist, I know that the scientifically proven health benefits associated with eating fish far outweigh any potential risk from exposure to trace amounts of mercury that can be found in fish.

Some California consumers may have been paying for a whole lot of ice, instead of seafood, according to an investigation that included inspections in 17 states. In some cases, a coating of ice glaze applied to frozen seafood to preserve quality during storage and distribution has been included as part of the labeled weight of seafood, according to the National Conference on Weights and Measures. The multi-agency investigation found ice in some cases accounted for up to 40% of the product's weight.

Some California consumers may have been paying for a whole lot of ice, instead of seafood, according to an investigation that included inspections in 17 states. In some cases, a coating of ice glaze applied to frozen seafood to preserve quality during storage and distribution has been included as part of the labeled weight of seafood, according to the National Conference on Weights and Measures. The multi-agency investigation found ice in some cases accounted for up to 40% of the product's weight.

The seafood industry is in strong support of the new regulatory program recently announced by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner David Kessler and discussed in the paper's Feb. 1 editorial and in a Jan. 27 article. There are several points about the new inspection program and the seafood industry that need to be clarified. This program represents a complete change in philosophy as to how the federal government will inspect food products in the future. The new program takes a proactive approach to food safety by preventing problems rather than correcting them after they have occurred.

Two separate hearings were held in Congress last week on various seafood safety issues. At the heart of each meeting was whether the federal government should launch a mandatory inspection program for fish and shellfish. The discussions occurred on the heels of a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration report released last month that stated that seafood consumption declined about 3% in 1988. After several years of increases, per-capita consumption dropped to 15 pounds last year, or off from its record level of 15.4 pounds in 1987.

As the Louisiana sun beat down on the Westwego Seafood Market, the aisles were as empty as the coolers. Fish hawkers paced alongside sparsely filled counters dotted with shrimp and crabs, calling out in strained voices to the few customers strolling by. Many of the outdoor stalls were boarded up. There wasn't a single oyster to be had. Just a week ago, the market outside New Orleans was packed with crowds grabbing up shellfish for their...

The Cold War is over. Most countries enjoy stable borders. International treaties and organizations provide assurances of protection. Yet an environmental group warns that virtually every government in the world faces a growing danger to its national security: environmental degradation on a scale so large that it threatens to undermine governments around the globe.

Fish counters in green rain slickers patrol a narrow channel of glacier-fed river, keeping close tabs on the thousands of salmon that migrate upstream to spawn. Elsewhere along the coast, observation teams slosh through waterways in waders, carrying rifles to ward off aggressive bears. Still others monitor the migration from low-flying planes, or take inventory at fish weirs and atop counting towers placed strategically throughout the wilds of Alaska as part of an elaborate surveillance of returning fish.

Re "Scientists warn of toxic risk to fetuses," May 25 Women of childbearing age need to follow certain guidelines for food consumption to ensure the optimal health of their babies. But this article fails to mention recent studies from such authorities as the Institute of Medicine and the University of Bristol that examine the benefits associated with eating seafood -- a nutrient-dense protein, rich in omega-3 fatty acids -- during pregnancy. As a food scientist, I know that the scientifically proven health benefits associated with eating fish far outweigh any potential risk from exposure to trace amounts of mercury that can be found in fish.

Fish counters in green rain slickers patrol a narrow channel of glacier-fed river, keeping close tabs on the thousands of salmon that migrate upstream to spawn. Elsewhere along the coast, observation teams slosh through waterways in waders, carrying rifles to ward off aggressive bears. Still others monitor the migration from low-flying planes, or take inventory at fish weirs and atop counting towers placed strategically throughout the wilds of Alaska as part of an elaborate surveillance of returning fish.

The Cold War is over. Most countries enjoy stable borders. International treaties and organizations provide assurances of protection. Yet an environmental group warns that virtually every government in the world faces a growing danger to its national security: environmental degradation on a scale so large that it threatens to undermine governments around the globe.

The seafood industry is in strong support of the new regulatory program recently announced by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner David Kessler and discussed in the paper's Feb. 1 editorial and in a Jan. 27 article. There are several points about the new inspection program and the seafood industry that need to be clarified. This program represents a complete change in philosophy as to how the federal government will inspect food products in the future. The new program takes a proactive approach to food safety by preventing problems rather than correcting them after they have occurred.

Two separate hearings were held in Congress last week on various seafood safety issues. At the heart of each meeting was whether the federal government should launch a mandatory inspection program for fish and shellfish. The discussions occurred on the heels of a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration report released last month that stated that seafood consumption declined about 3% in 1988. After several years of increases, per-capita consumption dropped to 15 pounds last year, or off from its record level of 15.4 pounds in 1987.

Louis Vitale, 93, philanthropic leader and a pioneer in the processing and marketing of fish. A native of San Francisco, Vitale spent his childhood in Italy and then as a teen-ager studied the fish industry in California. In 1921, he co-founded the Los Angeles Smoking & Curing Co., and over the years developed many innovations in smoking, curing, packaging and merchandising fishery products. He served as president of both the Southern California Fisheries Assn.

The safety of the nation's seafood was questioned Wednesday by a Washington-based consumer group that sharply criticized federal efforts to monitor fish for chemical contamination and harmful bacteria. The organization, Public Voice for Food and Health Policy, issued a 44-page report entitled "The Great American Fish Scandal," which purported to document the government's inadequate inspection program.