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.
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.
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:
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).