Mercury Safe Fish listed by Bon Appétit
Management
Bon
Appétit Management Company Launches Industry's
first Mercury Awareness Campaign. In partnership
with GotMercury.Org, national food service provider
protects fish eaters from mercury.
PALO ALTO, CA (October 16, 2006)
Do you love fish, but wonder if it is safe to
eat? Now, diners across the country can find out
about the safety of their fish. Bon Appétit
Management Company announces the food service
industry's first informational campaign to advise
diners of the risk of eating seafood containing
high levels of mercury.
Starting November 15th, signage in all 400 Bon
Appétit cafés around the country
will direct fish eaters to the GotMercury.Org
calculator, which they can use to gauge their
personal mercury exposure and intake risk.
While medical experts agree that seafood is a
healthful dietary choice, certain fish species
contain toxic levels of mercury, which is especially
harmful to developing fetuses and children and
may also cause health problems for adults. And
since mercury contaminates oceans and lakes around
the world, no product is guaranteed to be immune
no matter the price: canned tuna is one of the
worst culprits. Young children, pregnant women,
and women of childbearing age fall into the highest-risk
category, and due to a lack of regulation and
public information, many people unknowingly put
themselves in danger.
Bon Appétit and GotMercury.Org aim to change
that. Bon Appétit, a leader in sustainable
sourcing policies, is the first food service provider
to ring the alarm bell, even going beyond the
general warnings required by the State of California
to ensure that every single one of their guests
has the knowledge to make healthy fish choices.
"Bon Appétit should be praised as
a leader in the food service industry because
of its proactive work to educate customers with
information to protect their health from mercury
in seafood." Said Eli Saddler, public health
analyst for GotMercury.Org. Saddler added, "GotMercury.Org
is excited about working with Bon Appétit
to provide our mercury-in-seafood calculator for
consumers to determine how much seafood is safe
to eat and to learn about making healthier choices."
"Americans deserve to know the truth about
what's in their food," said Fedele Bauccio,
CEO of Bon Appétit Management Company.
"We serve over 200,000 guests a day in our
cafes, many of them college age women of childbearing
age. Their health remains our first priority.
The mercury calculator ensures that guests can
get this critical information about fish to make
informed decisions."
Dr. Peter Orris, Professor and Chief of Service,
Occupational and Environmental Medicine at the
University of Illinois Medical Center, commends
Bon Appétit for the campaign, and urges
other cafes and restaurants to follow their example.
"Adjusting eating habits to improve our health
is very difficult, especially as we hear conflicting
reports about diet and nutrition. Bon Appétit's
mercury warning is immensely helpful both for
individuals and as a broader public health initiative."
The GotMercury.Org calculator, based on data from
the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food
and Drug Administration, calculates the portions
of fish that are safe to eat based on body weight.
Additionally, the GotMercury.Org website offers
information on recent studies and answers common
questions from fish eaters.
"Sustainable seafood should also mean healthy
seafood, and Bon Appétit will provide customers
with the knowledge they need to protect their
health and the health of our oceans," said
Eli Saddler, public health analyst for GotMercury.Org.
Bon Appétit is no stranger to leading the
industry in socially responsible operations. In
2002, it became the first restaurant company to
pledge to protect our oceans by signing on, in
all of its cafés, to the Monterey Bay Aquarium's
Seafood Watch guidelines for sustainability. Other
Bon Appétit conservation and animal welfare
projects include company-wide initiatives to buy
from local and organic producers, reduce antibiotic
use on meat farms, and purchase cage-free shell
eggs. In its supportive role for GotMercury.Org,
Bon Appétit demonstrates its commitment
not only to environmental sustainability, but
to personal health.
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About Bon Appétit Management Company
Bon Appétit Management Co. is an onsite
restaurant company offering full food service
management to corporations, universities and specialty
venues. Bon Appétit is committed to sourcing
local, sustainable food supplies for all of its
cafés throughout the country. A pioneer
in environmentally sound sourcing policies, Bon
Appétit has developed programs with Environmental
Defense, the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch,
and other leading conservation organizations.
Based in Palo Alto, CA. Bon Appétit has
more than 400 cafés in 29 states, including
Yahoo!, American University and the Getty Center.
www.bamco.com.
About GotMercury.Org
GotMercury.Org is part of Turtle Island Restoration
Network's efforts to protect the environment and
the public from mercury. Because of the ubiquitous
nature of mercury in our environment and because
federal and state public health agencies are not
doing enough to raise public awareness and protect
the public from mercury, we developed GotMercury.Org,
an online tool that takes the mystery out of which
seafood is safe to eat regarding to the presence
of mercury and allows consumers to make informed
choices about eating seafood.