Consumers Union : In Their Own Words

What They Tell You About:

Credibility

Consumers Union (CU), publisher of Consumer Reports, says that, "To maintain its independence and impartiality, CU accepts no outside advertising and no free samples and employs several hundred mystery shoppers and technical experts to buy and test the products it evaluates."

Credibility

What They're Not Telling You

In December 2009, Ned Groth, a self-described expert on environmental health and risk assessment and formerly with Consumers Union, contacted the National Fisheries Institute (NFI) asking for a consulting job clearing up the very confusion about fish he helped create via Consumers Union reports. When NFI did not respond to Groth's offer he resumed his attacks on the fisheries industry under the auspices of the Mercury Policy Project. It was only then that NFI made public his unsuccessful efforts to become a paid consultant to the seafood industry.

The Tough Questions:
Why would industry agree to work with a scientist who actively ignores the large body of independent research that concludes the proven health benefits of fish are far more beneficial and compelling than any hypothetical and unproven mercury risk? In his own words, Groth seems bent on creating the science to support his beliefs rather then educating pregnant women about the proven facts about the importance of getting enough fish during pregnancy.