5 May 2003
United States Health advocates say new warnings about the dangers of eating fish that contains mercury don't go far enough because they exclude one of the most popular varieties - canned tuna.
Toxicologists agree that pregnant women and children should avoid swordfish, shark, king mackerel and tilefish in favor of salmon, shrimp, sardines, catfish, scallops and other seafood with little or no detectable mercury. But they have yet to agree on how to classify canned tuna, fueling a political and legal debate across the state, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Canned tuna contains less mercury than many other types of fish, but some doctors and activists say it still poses a major risk because people, especially children, consume it in large quantities. Nationally, children eat more than twice as much tuna as any other fish, according to a Department of Agriculture report. Tuna also is the top choice of women of childbearing age.
Since February, signs warning of the risks of eating various types of fish have cropped up in restaurants and stores across the state, but they don't discourage people from eating canned tuna. The warnings say in small type "mercury levels in canned tuna vary, but on average are lower than levels in many other fish."
The signs are based on an advisory from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and come in response to a lawsuit filed by California Attorney General Bill Lockeyer. He sued seven grocery chains for allegedly violating a state law requiring them to post clear warnings when exposing people to chemicals that cause cancer or reproductive harm.
Mercury has been shown to hinder brain development in fetuses and has been linked to an increased risk of heart attacks in adults. On average, swordfish or shark contains about six times as much mercury as the same quantity of canned tuna, according to 2001 data from the FDA.
The tuna industry maintains that their canned fish is safe.
Star-Kist Seafood, a division of Del Monte Foods, has asked grocery stores to keep warnings out of canned-food aisles, the Times reported. And the U.S. Tuna Foundation is campaigning to keep federal advisories from targeting canned tuna.
But in March the California Medical Association called for notices wherever fish is sold, including labels on canned tuna. The blood of one in 12 Americans exceeds the Environmental Protection Agency's "safe" level for mercury, according to data released in January by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Recent test found that among Californians, particularly upper-income residents, high mercury levels are even more common, according to the Times.
