Seafood lovers, beware: The fish you eat may not be what it seems.

A recent series by the Chicago Tribune on mercury in fish has revealed that some cans of "light tuna" - a fish variety the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends to consumers for its relatively low mercury levels - may instead contain yellowfin tuna, a variety that often contains higher amounts of mercury.

The Tribune investigation, which relied on testing by scientists at Rutgers University, found that yellowfin tuna constitutes about 15 percent of the fish in the more than 1 billion cans of light tuna that the tuna industry sells to consumers annually. Labels, however, do not always specify yellowfin tuna as an ingredient, the investigation found.

Presented with the evidence, the FDA's chief medical officer, David Acheson, told the Tribune that the agency would investigate the matter itself. "We will definitely look at it through our office of seafood and determine whether there is something that requires further pursuit," Acheson said.

Tuna industry producers and representatives maintain that canned light tuna, no matter what variety of fish it contains, is perfectly safe to eat. They say average mercury levels found in the cans are still within FDA-imposed limits, despite the fact that yellowfin may indeed contain greater overall amounts of mercury.

The tests found that canned light tuna in Chicago-area supermarkets contained mercury at an average level of 0.11 parts per million (ppm). Previous FDA studies have found that light tuna overall contains an average of 0.12 ppm of mercury.

"These findings should have been reported as good news for consumers because the mercury levels are very low and fall within the limits set by FDA," said David Burney, executive director of the U.S. Tuna Foundation, in a statement. "But unfortunately, the findings were used to raise concerns about eating tuna, when the real risk to the public is not getting enough canned tuna and other fish in the American diet."

The FDA and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have in the past warned young children and pregnant women to avoid albacore, a fish that has been shown to contain mercury at around 0.35 ppm, a level comparable to those of yellowfin tuna. A similar warning has not been issued in regards to yellowfin.

Studies have indicated that high levels of mercury in the bloodstream may harm the developing brain and nervous system in fetuses, newborns and young children. Mercury, a naturally occurring element, can accumulate to dangerous levels in certain environments as a result of industrial pollution containing mercury. Some of that mercury collects in streams and oceans, where it is absorbed by fish. Certain fish that are high on the food chain, such as yellowfin tuna, accumulate more mercury than others.

A 2005 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that one out of every 17 women of childbearing age has blood-mercury levels that could pose a potential risk to a developing fetus.

In a 2004 advisory, the FDA and EPA recommended fish and shellfish as an important part of a balanced, nutritional diet. For pregnant or soon-to-be-pregnant women, nursing mothers and young children, the agencies recommended eating up to 12 ounces (two average meals) of low-mercury fish per week. Canned light tuna is classified as a low-mercury fish. The agencies recommend at-risk people consume no more than six ounces of albacore tuna per week.

This Article is from MyDNA.com

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