Mercury found in all cans of tuna analyzed by two NGOs in five European countries. Bloom and Foodwatch call on mass distribution and public authorities “ to take emergency measures » and to review the authorized limits, because this heavy metal is harmful to health.
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Global mercury emissions are amplified by human activity, such as the burning of coal. In the ocean, it is transformed by bacteria and ingested by fish. It is therefore not surprising to find them in tuna. But the NGO Bloom denounces the level of mercury found in canned goods.
The ocean defense NGO randomly selected 148 cans in five European countries – France, Germany, England, Spain and Italy – and had them tested by an independent laboratory. Result : “ 100% of boxes are contaminated with mercury », Reveals his investigation.
For more than one in two cans tested, the mercury content exceeds the maximum limit set for other species of fish, such as cod or anchovies, i.e. 0.3 mg/kg. For tuna, the limit was set at 1 mg/kg.
100% of boxes contaminated with mercury
At the end of the food chain, tuna contains more mercury than other species. In Europe, the maximum limit set is not the same for all fish. A logic denounced by Julie Guterman, from Bloom:
“ When we eat mercury through cod or tuna, exactly the same thing happens in our body. Mercury will, in the same way, pass into our blood, reach our organs, and potentially have effects on our cerebral system. »
But this threshold is calculated on the “ fresh product “. However, according to Bloom’s calculations, this amounts to a content of approximately 2.7 mg/kg in the can, because the mercury is more concentrated once the product is dehydrated. As a result, the content of one of the cans tested reached 3.9 mg/kg, compared to a limit of 1 mg for fresh tuna.
This content is also aggravated by cooking. “ The problem is, when you can can tuna, you cook it. The water evaporates, but the mercury is tenacious. It remains attached to the flesh of the fish. And so, we concentrate the mercury in the flesh of the tuna », continues Julie Guterman, from Bloom.
ANSES, the French health safety agency, which does not want to comment on this study, simply recommends that pregnant women and young children limit the consumption of predatory fish, such as tuna or sea bream.
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