Murray, Isakson Urge FDA to Issue Updated Guidance to Pregnant Women on Seafood Consumption

Press Release

Today, a bipartisan group of 29 Senators led by Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA), wrote a letter to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Acting Commissioner Stephen Ostroff to express concern over continued delays in establishing updated final advice to pregnant women on seafood consumption.

In the letter, Murray and Isakson, along with Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Tom Carper (D-DE), Bob Casey (D-PA), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Susan Collins (R-ME), Chris Coons (D-DE), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Angus King (I-ME), Mark Kirk (R-IL), James Lankford (R-OK), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), David Perdue (R-GA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), David Vitter (R-LA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR) urged the FDA to finalize its nutritional advice to be consistent with the latest science, so that women can make informed decisions about what to eat to be healthy and ensure their children get the best possible start.

"Ensuring that women have the best advice that reflects the latest nutrition science about what to eat during pregnancy, for their health and the health of their children, is of the utmost importance," the Senators wrote in the letter. "…Further delays make it more difficult for pregnant women to make informed decisions about what to eat to provide their unborn children with the best possible start to life. It is critical that FDA finalize its nutritional advice as soon as possible in a manner that is consistent with the latest science."

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