Consumer Reports finds ‘unpredictable’ mercury releases in canned tuna

A Consumer Reports Research found “unpredictable” spikes in mercury levels in five popular brands of canned tuna on Thursday morning – suggesting that pregnant people are “avoiding canned tuna entirely.”

“While canned tuna, especially light varieties, have relatively low average mercury levels, individual cans can sometimes have much higher levels of mercury,” Consumer Reports reported.

“From jar to jar, mercury levels can rise in unpredictable ways, which can compromise fetal health.” said James Rogers, director of food safety research and testing at Consumer Reports.

Mercury levels found by Consumer Reports were in line with FDA standards that say pregnant women can eat canned tuna in limited quantities.

CBS News contacted all five companies mentioned in the report. Chicken of the Sea, Safe Catch, StarKist, and Wild Planet have said their products are safe and meet FDA standards. Bumblebee did not respond to us early Thursday morning, but told Consumer Reports that “the health benefits of eating seafood far outweigh any potential risk, including concerns about mercury.”

Mercury is a neurotoxin, a compound that affects the development of the nervous system, said CBS News medical officer Dr. David Agus. Possible health risks from mercury include brain damage, loss of smell, and developmental delays in children.

If a developing fetus is exposed to high levels of mercury, cognitive problems can occur later in life, Agus said.

“Young children and pregnant women especially need to keep mercury away from developing neurons,” he said.

Consumer Reports tested 10 products, including albacore and light tuna from each of the five tuna brands. A total of 30 samples were tested – all tuna products that were packaged in water.

Light tuna usually has less mercury than albacore, which comes from larger fish. “But you can’t tell just by looking at how much mercury is in a particular can,” said Michael Hansen, senior researcher at Consumer Reports.

Of the 30 samples tested, Consumer Reports said it found six separate spikes in mercury content, which is one in five cans, “which would change the FDA’s advice on how often someone should eat this particular tuna.”

“This report showed that while light tuna contains much less mercury than other tuna, it is volatile and you can get a higher level batch,” Agus said.

Consumer Reports says the tests provide insight into what consumers “may experience at a given point in time when eating these brands of tuna and highlight the importance of making safer decisions in their daily lives.”

“One big finding is that albacore has far more mercury than light tuna or skipjack tuna, regardless of brand,” Consumer Reports said in a statement. “This is not surprising since albacore is larger and lives longer than the tunas that make up light tuna or skipjack tuna. But the discrepancy was quite large: Albacore products contained, on average, three times more mercury than others.”

Mercury cannot be removed by cooking. This is an impurity in coal; Agus explained that when coal is burned, elemental mercury enters the clouds and sinks when it rains, ending up in the ocean as methylmercury. Marine animals consume the pollutant.

“The fish eat it, and then the bigger fish eat the smaller fish, and that’s how they accumulate mercury,” Agus said.

Fish high in mercury include sharks and swordfish. Agus noted that very little mercury is found in small surface fish such as trout and salmon.

Consumer Reports suggests that adults who are not pregnant eat 8 to 12 ounces per week of relatively low-mercury fish.

“This can include up to three servings of light tuna or skipjack tuna… You can eat albacore, but only one 4-ounce serving per week,” Consumer Reports says.

This suggests that children stick to light or skipjack tuna and eat low-mercury fish in limited quantities.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct a line comparing light tuna to albacore. Light tuna generally has less mercury than albacore.

Content Source

News Press Ohio – Latest News:
Columbus Local News || Cleveland Local News || Ohio State News || National News || Money and Economy News || Entertainment News || Tech News || Environment News

Related Articles

Back to top button