The levels of mercury in 11 samples of albacore canned tuna averaged 0.560 micrograms of mercury per gram of tuna. The average reported by FDA this year is 0.350 micrograms per gram. The sample size is small, but three out of the 11 cans had mercury levels more than twice the average values reported by the FDA.

The average mercury level in 48 samples of “light” tuna was roughly one-third the amount found in the white tuna.

The report adds to other research showing that albacore has more mercury than FDA tests have revealed.

“The main value of this study is that it points out that because tuna, especially white, or albacore, can be moderate-to-high in mercury ­– and because canned tuna is so popular in our diets – that mercury exposure from canned tuna is of concern,” said Roxanne Karimi, a marine scientist at Stony Brook University who was not involved with the study. Karimi’s research also has shown that mercury levels in fish vary widely from what the FDA reports.

The new study examined the mercury concentrations in 35 large (66.5 oz) cans and 24 large (43 oz) foil pouches from brand lines and products sold specifically to schools. The tuna was from six brands of “light” tuna and two brands of albacore tuna, including Sunkist and Chicken of the Sea, which made up 60 percent of the light tuna studied.

Fifty of the 59 tuna samples were imported to the United States. The nine samples of U.S.-caught tuna had the lowest average mercury concentration. “Light” tuna from Ecuador had the highest. 

In the study, tuna mercury levels were highly variable between samples, which means parents or schools can’t easily judge its safety, Groth said. The report suggests that schools should avoid buying tuna from Ecuador and other Latin American countries, instead buying U.S. or Asian tuna.

Groth said the take-home message for parents isn’t that their kids should stop eating fish. “Focus on kids who eat too much tuna and give them other kinds of nutritious seafood,” he said. “Don’t stop eating tuna. It’s OK for most kids.”

The report was co-sponsored by nine other advocacy groups, including Physicians for Social Responsibility and the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

This article originally ran at Environmental Health News, a news source published by Environmental Health Sciences, a nonprofit media company.

11 Comments

1. 1. Liveinawe 10:40 AM 9/19/12

   Again?!

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2. 2. Trafalgar 11:24 AM 9/19/12

   I'm baffled that neither you nor EHN included the list of tested tuna sources and results, so that we as consumers could take steps to limit our mercury exposure.
   
   Obtaining this data and then not sharing is just irresponsible, especially since EHN indicates that not all light tuna was low in mercury and that some white tuna was lower than others, but is non-specific as to which products.
   
   EHN also doesn't include a link to "the report prepared for the Mercury Policy Project," which is what they say the information is from.
   
   Of course most of the time your articles refer to papers which are behind a paywall anyways (so it's no wonder much of the US population thinks there's a conspiracy of scientists to deceive the general population).

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3. 3. BillR in reply to Trafalgar 11:40 AM 9/19/12

   Go to mercurypolicy.org for more information.

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4. 4. lamorpa in reply to Trafalgar 11:59 AM 9/19/12

   Trafalgar,
   Cool your jets. Is your mind easily would up from too much mercury exposure? You want the list of companies that only catch the tunas with low mercury or something? The ones that use 'low mercury hooks'?

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5. 5. BadBrad22 12:38 PM 9/19/12

   It's Skipjack, not Shipjack. As usual online, nobody proofreads anything.

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6. 6. alan6302 03:16 PM 9/19/12

   I agree. There is a conspiracy to expose the general population to mercury ,fluoride, etc.

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7. 7. lamorpa in reply to alan6302 03:28 PM 9/19/12

   alan6302,
   I've heard 'they' are doping us up with 'nitrogen' now too.

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8. 8. Corpusien 11:16 PM 9/19/12

   At least 85% of you scientifics are using your big brains to create objects of destruction...because small military brains but very wise are controling you...:-(
   All the children on this planet including ''yours'' are in danger...Why you do not use your big brain to find solutions: to decrease mercury in Nature, in fishes and in humans? Like a chemical or bio-chemical or genetic process to remove mercury from dead fishes? Sorry for the bad English, this is not my basic language.

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9. 9. gmperkins 11:41 AM 9/20/12

   I am glad that people are out there testing and questioning. Especially since Mercury and Lead (and other chemicals) damage may go well beyond what has been observed. Our minds/neurons are very sensitive and even minor disruptions can lead to harmful effects over long periods of time. More and more evidence mounts that we are all 'very mildly poisoned' in various ways. Over a month, no big deal. Over a lifetime... I don't really look forward to finding out but we'll have the results sometime (unfortunately 40 years late, probably).

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10. 10. Greenberet 05:44 AM 9/21/12

    When I was young my mom told me not to eat too much canned food, because the process of sealing the cans brings heavy metal chemicals such as lead. It seems that the cans themselves are also bad for our health.
    Canned food plays a important role in our life. Can we find some substitutes to produce cans which will be safer?

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11. 11. donnawanna 04:53 PM 9/21/12

    psst we're eating Fukijima tuna.

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