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Outcome of Medical Journal Debate - SFD
04/08/06
By MEDIA RELEASE
“EAT MORE SEAFOOD�
EAT more seafood -- that’s the advice to emerge from debate by leading international medical researchers over a “British Medical Journal� article raising doubts about the health benefits of Omega-3 oils.
“The recent ‘Medical Journal’ article has generated rock-solid support round the world for the beneficial role in improving health, especially heart health, played by Omega-3 oils, derived principally from seafood,� Australian seafood expert Mr Roy Palmer said today. “Every year, more than 50,000 Australians die of a cardiovascular disease -- heart disease, stroke or blood vessel disease -- and if all Australians ate seafood two or three times every week, the death toll from CV disease would plummet. That’s a fact.�
Mr Palmer, Deputy Chair of Seafood Services Australia, said an article by researchers at the UK’s University of East Anglia in the “British Medical Journal� on March 23, widely reported by the news media, suggested there was no evidence of a “clear benefit� from Omega-3 oils. However Mr Palmer, who is working to alert the Australian public to the health benefits of seafood, said those findings were based on a desktop study analysing existing research and did not raise any new issues.
“Within 10 days, there were 19 online letters to the editor received by the ‘Journal’ from round the world -- the USA, Netherlands, Germany, Russia, England, Wales, Barbados, Spain, Denmark and Norway -- with the signatories including at least 10 professors and a dozen doctors, and not one of them supports the original report. They all question either the methods used in the research project or the results reported. There is rock-solid support for the health benefits of Omega-3 oils.�
Mr Palmer said the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) had also issued a statement criticising the report and urging people to eat more seafood. The FSA was an independent UK Government department set up in 2000 to protect the public's health and consumer interests in relation to food. The FSA’s advice remained to eat at least two portions of fish every week, including one of oily fish, the type richest in Omega-3.
“The FSA’s position is based on a report, 'Advice on fish consumption: benefits and risks', produced in 2004 by a group of experts drawn from two independent scientific committees that advise the Agency: the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) and the Committee on Toxicity (COT). The SACN-COT expert group considered the balance of risks and benefits of eating oily fish, took into account the same studies as the East Anglia University researchers, and said unequivocally that the majority of the UK population does not eat enough fish, particularly oily fish, and should be encouraged to increase their consumption. The FSA’s view has not changed.
“In February, a panel of experts convened by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the peak US science body, issued a statement confirming the health benefits of seafood, with a recommendation to eat seafood not just the usually suggested two to three times a week but instead four to seven times a week. Fish is an excellent source of protein and it contains essential vitamins and minerals, such as selenium and iodine. Oily fish, as well as being rich in Omega-3 oils, is also a good source of vitamins A and D.
There is no question about it: eating seafood does help you live longer. There’s ample real-world evidence of that all round the globe.� Mr Palmer said the results of a seafood consumption survey in Melbourne released last week by Federal Fisheries Minister Senator Eric Abetz showed that, while more than 95% of people interviewed had eaten seafood in the past year, and 70% ate it once a week in summer, annual consumption averaged only 12.5 kg per person, well below survey figures from Sydney (15.1kg) and Perth (14.7kg), and substantially less than countries such as France (21kg), Spain (41kg) and Japan (72kg).
“The Minister said he hopes seafood consumption can be increased because seafood is so good for your health, and this latest survey certainly confirms, as in the UK and other western nations, Australians should be eating more seafood every week. It would significantly improve the health of the nation.�
FURTHER INFORMATION:
Mr Roy Palmer, 0419 528 733 or SSA Managing Director Mr Ted Loveday, 0427 323 663.
Click here for the “BMJ� article and (19) online letters to the editor (“Rapid Responses�)
Click here for the FSA report
Click here for the survey report, Retail Sale and Consumption of Seafood in Melbourne
Click here for the AAAS media release
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