The Chicago Tribune Newspaper continues to publish negative articles about mercury in tuna - here below you find the full text (atuna):
Newly released government data provide the best evidence to date that some cans of light tuna -one of
Testing by the Food and Drug Administration found that 6 percent of canned light tuna samples contained large amounts of mercury, a toxic metal that can cause learning disabilities in children and neurological problems in adults.
The findings are significant because the government has repeatedly stated that canned light tuna is low in mercury and a good choice for pregnant women and young children.
The FDA also found high mercury levels in samples of Chilean sea bass, which is often sold in high-end restaurants. Previously, the FDA had tested only one sample of the fish. High levels were detected in big-eye tuna, a species sold as ahi tuna and served in sushi.
No federal warnings exist for either fish, even though the average mercury level detected in the FDA tests was above the average in albacore tuna, which the government tells pregnant women and young children to limit eating.
In all, the FDA released testing results for more than 25 kinds of fish, sampled between 2001 and 2005. The findings were not released until now partly because the analysis wasn't complete, the agency said.
While a few species, such as tuna and Chilean sea bass (also known as Patagonian toothfish), were tested frequently in the latest round of sampling, many were not.
On Thursday, the agency said it would not take any action based on its newly released results, which come at a time when the FDA has been under fire for not adequately policing mercury in seafood, particularly canned light tuna. Most light tuna is made with skipjack, a relatively low-mercury species. But a Tribune investigative series recently reported that the
The FDA had been unaware of the practice, so the agency’s latest testing did not address the yellowfin issue. Responding to the Tribune series, though, FDA officials started investigating whether canned light tuna contains hazardous mercury levels.
In the 216 samples of canned light tuna tested by the FDA, the mercury levels averaged 0.12 parts per million, in line with previous limited testing and well below the legal limit of 1.0 parts per million. But 12 samples exceeded 0.35 parts per million, an amount the government considers high. When the Tribune recently tested 36 cans of the same type of canned tuna, none of the samples exceeded that level. The discrepancy might be due to the difference in sample size or because mercury levels can vary widely in all fish.
When asked about the FDA’s latest testing results on light tuna, an agency official said consumers should not be concerned that 6 percent of canned light tuna tested high in mercury. What’s important, the official said, is that on average, such tuna tested relatively low.
The official, who answered questions on the condition of anonymity, also said the results for all fish tested indicate that mercury levels in commercial seafood were “relatively stable†compared with previous testing.
But many scientists said consumers should be concerned about mercury contamination even in fish that on average test low in the toxic metal. Though it is unclear whether a single high-mercury meal could harm a fetus, many experts said the developing nervous system is so sensitive to toxic substances that caution should prevail.
â€I give a lot of talks to parents, and they always ask what is a safe fish to eat. I tell them I cannot give them an honest answer,†said Vas Aposhian, a
Of the five seafoods listed in FDA warnings as low-mercury options--shrimp, canned light tuna, salmon, pollock and catfish--only light tuna occasionally tests in the high range.
Many of the FDA’s new mercury results were from samples taken several years ago. An agency spokesman said results are not released to the public until “the analysis is completed and the quality assurance has been completed. Sometimes that process can be delayed.†All the FDA data can be found at www.cfsan.fda.gov/(tilde)frf/seamehg2.html.
The U.S. Tuna Foundation, the industry’s leading lobbying group, said the FDA’s new data actually confirm the safety of canned light tuna.
â€FDA’s latest findings about mercury levels in canned tuna should end the debate over whether canned tuna is a safe and healthy food for all Americans,†David Burney, the foundation’s executive director, said in a statement. “No one is at risk from the minute amounts of mercury in any form of canned tuna.â€