Urgent warning over tins of tuna and 'colossal risk to public health'

Experts have issued a stark warning that tins of tuna sold in the UK may contain a toxic metal. Methylmercury, which is particularly hazardous to pregnant women and children and has been linked to cancer, was detected in nearly all of the 150 cans bought across France, Italy, Spain, Germany, and Britain for a study.

The tests on the tins revealed "contamination" with the metal, known to hinder brain development and cause potentially fatal lung damage. Researchers are calling the findings "a colossal risk to public health" and are pressing for immediate government action.

Karine Jacquemart, CEO of Foodwatch France, one of the organisations behind the investigation, said: "What we end up with on our dinner plates is a colossal risk to public health that's not considered seriously. We won't give up until we have a more protective European standard."

The current legal mercury limit in tuna under EU and UK regulations is 1 mg/kg, while it stands at 0.3 mg/kg for other fish like cod. However, the study by Foodwatch and Paris-based NGO Bloom found mercury in all 148 tins tested, with 57% exceeding the 0.3 mg/kg threshold. For the latest health and Covid news, sign up to our newsletter here

One tin from a Paris store showed a record 3.9 mg/kg of mercury—13 times over the 0.3 mg/kg limit. In response to these alarming levels, Bloom and Foodwatch are urging European countries to "activate a safeguard clause" to halt the sale and promotion of products surpassing the 0.3mg/kg level, reports the Mirror.

They also urged governments to ban "all products" containing tuna from school canteens, nurseries, maternity wards, hospitals, and care homes. The average European consumes over 2.8 kilos of tuna per year, or roughly 25 cans.

Around four-fifths of the mercury released into the atmosphere from natural and human causes, such as burning coal, ends up in the ocean where some is converted by tiny organisms to a toxic compound known as methylmercury. This methylmercury works its way up the food chain and accumulates in top predators in high concentrations.

As tuna - and other predators or longer-living species like sharks or swordfish - are higher up the food chain, they eat smaller fish and accumulate more mercury over time. Exposure to methylmercury may damage the kidneys and nervous system, trigger issues with vision and raise the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Pregnant women and children are particularly vulnerable to high levels of methylmercury, according to the World Health Organisation. In very high doses, studies have found that some forms of mercury have triggered the development in several types of tumours in rats and mice.

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