Philip Spiller

Philip Spiller retired from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2014.  As Director of FDA’s Office of Seafood, he led the development of preventive safety controls for seafood processing and an assessment of the “net effects” on children’s neurodevelopment from eating seafood during pregnancy.  Net effects took into account the total contents of fish, including both omega-3 fatty acids and methylmercury.  FDA’s approach was adopted by an Expert Consultation on fish consumption convened by the WHO and FAO.  After his retirement he co-authored a systematic review and other articles on the effects of fish eaten during pregnancy.