Canned tuna is largely contaminated with mercury, a substance harmful to health, denounced Tuesday in a report the NGOs Bloom and Foodwatch, who asked mass retailers and public authorities to “take emergency measures”, including lowering of authorized limits.
“Bloom randomly selected 148 cans in five European countries (France, Germany, England, Spain and Italy) and had them tested by an independent laboratory: 100% of the cans are contaminated with mercury,” reveals the investigation carried out by the NGO Bloom.
The environmental defense association states that for more than one in two cans, the mercury content exceeds the maximum limit set for other species of fish, i.e. 0.3 mg/kg.
“The maximum mercury levels in tuna currently in force in Europe were established based on the rate of contamination of tuna observed and not based on the danger that mercury represents for human health, in order to ensure the sale of 95 % of tuna,” notes the survey.
They were thus set at 1 mg/kg for the “fresh weight” and not the finished product, in the can. “This is the reason why tuna, one of the most contaminated species, is given a maximum mercury tolerance three times higher than that of the least contaminated species.”
For the two NGOs, “no health reason justifies this difference: mercury is not less toxic if it is ingested via tuna, only the mercury concentration of the food matters”.
Mercury, present in particular in atmospheric deposits from coal-fired power plants, is classified by the World Health Organization (WHO) among the ten substances of greatest concern for public health.
In the ocean, mercury mixes with bacteria and turns into methylmercury, an even more toxic derivative. “Elemental mercury and methylmercury are toxic to the nervous systems (…); neurological and behavioral disorders may be observed after exposure,” says the WHO.
Faced with what they describe as a “real public health scandal”, the NGOs are calling for “emergency measures”. They call on the European Commission to align with the strictest maximum level that it has set for other species, i.e. 0.3 mg/kg.
“We demand that public authorities strengthen regulations and, without delay, that distributors only market products below the most protective threshold,” summarizes Camille Dorioz, campaigns director at Foodwatch.