September 29, 2010

Mr. Jay McGraw

Stage 29 Productions, LLC

2401 Colorado Avenue, Suite 110

Santa Monica, CA 90404-3585

Dear Mr. McGraw,

On June 8, 2010, I wrote you to express my concern that Dr. Travis Stork misstated the FDA advisory concerning seafood and mercury during a segment of The Doctors that aired nationwide on June 7, 2010. I offered the expertise of our staff dietitian on background so that your producers and on-air talent could correctly understand the advisory and accurately convey those guidelines to your viewers. Its disappointing that we never heard back from you or any representative of your program.

The Doctors September 21 episode aired another segment on fish and mercury. During the broadcast, Dr. Stork referred viewers to the show’s Web site for a list of fish his viewers should avoid eating; it reads in part:

“Fish has long held a vaunted place in a healthy diet. However, environmental pollutants release the element mercury, a toxin, into the worlds lakes, rivers and oceans, which accumulates and contaminates the fish supply. As a result, people are advised to consume no more than 12 ounces of seafood per week, or no more than three sushi rolls, and to avoid fish high in mercury. Check local advisories about the safety of fish in your local waters.

Pregnant and nursing women are cautioned to avoid seafood altogether.

Having distorted the FDAs advisory a second timeafter we corrected you and clarified those guidelines in writing is a shameless if not reckless threat to public health. We feel that you are obliged to revise the content published on the Web site and make an on-air correction clarifying that:

• The FDA advisory on seafood and mercury, including advice to limit consumption to only 12 ounces per week, is only for “women who are pregnant, plan to become pregnant, are nursing, or young children.” It is not for the general population;

• No credible scientific source anywhere advises pregnant and nursing women to eliminate seafood from their diet. In fact, a growing body of scientific evidence suggests that pregnant and nursing women ought to be eating more seafood in order to spur cognitive development in their babies. By passing along erroneous information like this, you are actually causing harm to pregnant women and their young children and are helping to create a public health problem;

• Local EPA advisories don’t apply to the fish that you buy at your local grocer or fish store, they only are concerned with sport-caught fish. That is an important distinction, but one that your program didn’t bother to make; and

• As for the claims about sushi, those stem from a 2008 article in the New York Times that NFI thoroughly debunked, a story that was also criticized by the newspaper’s own public editor. In the immediate wake of the story, Time, Slate and the Center for Independent Media all called the New York Times to task for printing a story that was needlessly alarmist.

The FDA advisory does not need your programs interpretation and should be posted to your Web site as published; it clearly states the following for women who are pregnant, plan to become pregnant, are nursing, or young children:

1. Do not eat exotic fish like Shark, Swordfish, King Mackerel, or Tilefish because they contain high levels of mercury.

2. Eat up to 12 ounces (2 average meals) a week of a variety of fish and shellfish. Up to six ounces of that total can come from albacore tuna.

3. Check local advisories about the safety of fish caught by family and friends in your local lakes, rivers, and coastal areas.

Continuing to ignore our outreach and failing to make these corrections to the Web site and on-air, exposes your show as one that is not earnestly interested in delivering reliable, accurate medical information.

Sincerely,

Gavin Gibbons

National Fisheries Institute

cc: Andrew Scher

Executive Producer