NFI is advising reporters and editors to treat the claims made earlier today by CSPI with skepticism

October 6, 2009 Washington – The National Fisheries Institute (NFI) is advising reporters and editors to treat the claims made earlier today by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) regarding food-borne illnesses, including fresh tuna and oysters, with skepticism, and further urges them to contact NFI directly for comment. Among other things, CSPI’s list ranks foods based on number of outbreaks rather than number of reported illnesses thus distorting which foods are associated with actual risk of illness.

Seafood is a safe and healthy product that is an essential part of the American diet. CSPI has a history of attempting to scare consumers by playing fast and loose with definitions that might mislead the casual reader.

For further details, reporters and editors should consult the following entries on NFI’s media blog: Things to Consider When Covering CSPI’s Latest Report and An Outbreak of Distortion.

It is important to note that by focusing only on the FDA, the CSPI report simply ignores beef, chicken and pork-the proteins Americans eat the most of and a category CSPI admits is high risk’ for food-borne illness. Reporters and consumers should take this report with a grain of salt and a heaping helping of perspective, that’s why NFI recommends getting your health and food safety information from doctors and dietitians not the lawyers and lobbyists who work for CSPI.

For more than 60 years, the National Fisheries Institute (NFI) and its members have provided American families with the variety of sustainable seafood essential to a healthy diet. For more information visit: www.AboutSeafood.com.

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Contact Information

Gavin Gibbons
(703) 752-8891
ggibbons@nfi.org