More than half (57%) of cans of tuna consumed in the European market exceed the maximum mercury established for fish (0.3 mg/kg)warns a report carried out by the international organizations Bloom (France) and Foodwatch (Germany), which denounces that this limit is higher, 1 mg/kg, for fresh and canned tuna.
“More than one can in two exceeds the most restrictive maximum mercury concentration defined for seafood. If this more restrictive maximum mercury concentration were also applied to tuna, the sale of more than one can in two would be prohibited.“warns the report that has randomly analyzed 148 canned fish in five European countries (Germany, England, Spain, France and Italy).
In addition, of the cans analyzed, a can of the brand Petit Navirepurchased at a Carrefour City store in Paris contains a record concentration of 3.9 mg/kg. This represents almost 4 times the maximum concentration of fresh tuna and 13 times the restriction of 0.3 mg/kg. Meanwhile, of the 30 that come from Spain, one can of the brand Carrefour bought in a supermarket in Valencia had a record level of 2.5 mg/kg, that is, more than 8 times higher than the limit.
According to them, this report reveals a “true public health scandal” about the contamination of these fish by mercury. While this concerns all or almost all tuna caught, BLOOM wants to emphasize that, “in addition to mercury pollution in the environment, “The main reason for this health problem lies in the industrialization of said fishing and the resulting overconsumption of this type of fish.”
On the other hand, for obvious health reasons described in this research, but also due to the “disastrous” environmental, social and economic impacts of industrial fishing described in previous reports in their ‘TunaGate’ series, they consider that tuna “can no longer be considered a staple food.”
After 18 months of investigation, BLOOM reveals how, since the 70s, the public powers of said fish “have consciously chosen to favor the economic interests of the industrial fishing of this fish to the detriment of the health of hundreds of millions of tuna consumers in Europe.
In the report they recall that canned fish of this type “benefit from additional legal measures and they can – in all legality – reach concentrations nine times higher than the maximum limit for other species”: The current rule applies to fresh tuna and not to the finished product. Now, he points out, “canned tuna loses a lot of water compared to fresh tuna and mercury, therefore, is two to three times more concentrated in a canned tuna than in a piece of fresh fish. When consumed canned as is, it is not rehydrated and, consequently, the mercury concentration is maintained.”
“No method taking into account all the consequences on the health of adults and children has been used to determine mercury concentrations in fish,” the report laments, recalling that “Pets are more protected from mercury than babies,” since the thresholds that apply to cans for pets are more binding than those used for human food.
“Mercury is a powerful neurotoxin that is fixed in the brain and is very difficult to eliminate. “Everyone knows it,” he explains. Julie GutermanBLOOM researcher and lead author of the survey.
“I found it difficult to believe that industrialists and politicians could knowingly opt for criminal cynicism, but I had to face the facts. Having acted before setting regulatory thresholds means manufacturers and retailers can now sell contaminated products legally. Making people believe that eating tuna is safe from a health point of view “It is an unforgivable lie with dramatic consequences.”warns the researcher.
Measures proposed by the report
According to the report, the fact that a mercury threshold – rated as acceptable – has to be set three times higher for tuna than for other fish species, such as cod, without the slightest sanitary justification, shows that “This danger threshold has not been established to protect human health, but solely to protect the financial interests of the tuna industry“since mercury is no less toxic in tuna than in any other fish.
Given this situation and considering that this is the best-selling fish in Europe, the report asks distributors to commit to marketing only tuna that does not exceed the most protective mercury standard possible.
In addition, The European Commission must take conservative measures for tuna aligning with the stricter maximum concentration they previously set for some fish, and The controls of the entire production chain of this fish must be reinforcedboth at the public and private levels, with the purpose that truly protective standards for public health are respected.
Furthermore, they consider that national authorities must carry out massive information campaigns about itso that citizens know the risks of consuming these products. Especially for the most sensitive audiences – such as pregnant women and children –, applying a label on predatory fish and products containing them to clearly warn of the health danger which involves the ingestion of mercury.
In the medium term, ask that the European regulation 915/2023 –which sets the maximum concentrations of mercury in food products– be updated, in collaboration with the elected members of the European Parliament; the Tolerable Weekly Intake (IST) should be deleted and consumption recommendations should be re-evaluated.
Finally, European Commission committees such as the SCoPAFF (Standing Committee on Plant Animal Food and Feed), which has decision-making power over key issues such as pesticide residues, Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and contaminants in food, must demonstrate a total transparency and must make their decisions following a democratic processaccording to the report.
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