After analyzing approximately 150 cans of tuna collected from five European countries, the French nonprofit organization BLOOM announced that they were all contaminated to some extent by mercury. More than half of the tested cans (57%) exceeded the strictest maximum mercury limit set for fish.
As a result, BLOOM has partnered with foodwatch, a consumer protection nongovernmental organization, to denounce and put an end to a “public health scandal” that has been covered up by industrial fishing lobbies.
Sway of Industrial Fishing Lobbies
BLOOM, an organization fully dedicated to protect the world’s oceans and all who depend on them, has investigated the concentration of mercury — a potentially toxic heavy metal — found in canned tuna. As a top predator in the food chain, tuna accumulates heavy metals from its prey, resulting in mercury contamination that exceeds that of smaller species. Tuna is the most consumed fish in Europe, averaging 4.9 kg per person per year in France, and according to BLOOM, “regular ingestion of methylmercury represents — even in small quantities — a serious health hazard, particularly (but not exclusively) for the brain development of fetuses and young children.”
Mercury is “1 of the 10 chemicals of greatest concern for global public health, along with asbestos and arsenic,” because its derivative, methylmercury, is classified as a “possible carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer,” the two organizations added.
To conduct its investigation, BLOOM randomly selected 148 cans of tuna from five European countries (Germany, England, Spain, France, and Italy) and had them tested by an independent laboratory. The results showed that 100% of the cans were contaminated with mercury, and more than half (57%) exceeded the strictest maximum mercury limit set for fish (0.3 mg/kg).
Is this legal? The answer is yes, because the maximum mercury levels allowed for tuna have been set at 1 mg/kg (compared with 0.3 mg/kg for other fish, such as cod). This threshold was established, according to BLOOM, not based on a method that considered the health impacts on adults and children but rather on actual measurements of mercury contamination in tuna.
However, “there is no health-related reason to justify this discrepancy: Mercury is not less toxic when ingested through tuna,” the organization pointed out. Why is there such an exception for this species? For BLOOM, this particular regulation for tuna reflects the influence of the tuna lobby: “The danger threshold was not set with the aim of protecting human health but only the financial interests of the tuna industry,” it established, with the complicity of public authorities.
Petition Targeting European Market
To put an end to this scandal, which affects hundreds of millions of tuna consumers, BLOOM and foodwatch are mobilizing citizens to demand action from both public authorities and major retailers.
The two organizations are calling on public authorities to implement the following emergency measures:
- The European Commission must adopt a conservative threshold for tuna (fresh and canned) by aligning it with the strictest limit set for other species: 0.3 mg/kg. Given tuna’s popularity as Europe’s most-consumed fish, it warrants even regulation.
- Member States must immediately activate safeguard clauses to prohibit the sale of tuna products containing mercury levels > 0.3 mg/kg within their territory.
- To protect the most vulnerable populations, governments and local authorities must ban all tuna-based products from school cafeterias, daycare centers, nursing homes, maternity wards, and hospitals.
In addition, BLOOM and foodwatch have launched an international petition targeting some of the largest distributors in the European market (Carrefour, Intermarché, and Leclerc in France; Carrefour, Mercadona, and Lidl in Spain; Conad, Coop, and Esselunga in Italy; and Edeka, Rewe, and Aldi in Germany), demanding an immediate ban on tuna products with mercury levels > 0.3 mg/kg and the strictest standard already in place for other fish species (0.3 mg/kg instead of 1 mg/kg). Health Effects of Mercury Exposure What is the real impact of mercury on human health? A French review from 2011 provides an overview. According to the authors, “the consumption of contaminated fish and marine mammals represents the main source of human exposure to MeHg [methylmercury], particularly among populations whose diet relies heavily on this type of food.” A significant example of the health repercussions of mercury exposure among the public is the case of Minamata, Japan, where, between 1932 and 1968, a factory producing acetic acid discharged liquid waste into Minamata Bay. The discharged material had high concentrations of methylmercury. “The average concentration of total mercury in the fish consumed was estimated at about 10 mg/kg of fresh fish,” the authors noted. The bay, rich in fish and shellfish, was the primary livelihood of local residents and fishermen from other areas when “a strange disease” emerged, with numerous cases of brain lesions, paralysis, incoherent speech, and delirium. The World Health Organization (WHO) also reported on this tragic episode, stating, “At least 50,000 people were affected to some extent, and more than 2000 cases of ‘Minamata disease’ were officially recognized, peaking in the 1950s.” In addition to individuals regularly exposed to high levels of mercury, either accidentally, as described above, or among populations that rely on fishing, particularly in Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, and Greenland, “fetuses are particularly sensitive to the effects of mercury on development,” the WHO stated in a chapter on the links between mercury and health. Exposure to methylmercury in utero, resulting, for example, from the mother’s consumption of fish or shellfish, “is likely to have harmful effects on the developing brain and nervous system of the child. The main health effect of methylmercury is the emergence of neurological developmental disorders. Thus, cognition, memory, attention, language, fine motor skills, and spatial vision may be affected in children exposed to methylmercury before birth.” It is worth noting that in 2017, a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology suggested that consuming fish or seafood with high mercury levels could be associated with an increased risk for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
This story was translated from Medscape’s French edition using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.
Source link : https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/european-canned-tuna-found-contaminated-mercury-2024a1000kbw?src=rss
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Publish date : 2024-11-07 09:47:15
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