Experts issue warning over tinned tuna that poses ‘colossal risk’ to UK public health

They have called for urgent action

Methylmercury, which poses a serious risk to pregnant women and children and has links to cancer, has been found in almost all of the 150 cans purchased in France, Italy, Spain, Germany and the UK as part of a study.

‘Contamination’ with the metal was found during tests carried out on the tins, and it is thought that it can impair brain development and trigger life-threatening lung damage.

Researchers have claimed the results of the test showed the product was ‘a colossal risk to public health’ and urged Governments to take action.

Karine Jacquemart, CEO of consumer rights organisation Foodwatch France which was one of the two groups behind the report, 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.”

Under current EU and UK law, the limit for mercury in tuna is 1 mg/kg and 0.3 mg/kg for other fish such as cod.

However, Foodwatch and Paris-based NGO Bloom found that all 148 tins tested contained mercury, 57 per cent of which exceeded the 0.3mg/kg mercury limit.

One tin bought in a Paris Carrefour City store had a record level of 3.9 mg/kg, the report said — 13 times the 0.3 mg/kg limit.

Researchers urged the European nations to ‘activate a safeguard clause’ to prevent the sale and promotion of products exceeding 0.3mg/kg.

In particular, they called on governments to remove all products containing tuna from school canteens, nurseries, maternity wards, hospitals and care homes as a matter of urgency.

The average European consumes over 2.8 kilos of tuna per year, or roughly 25 cans.

Around four-fifths of the mercury put 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 then 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.

As well as being linked with some types of cancer, lung damage and impaired brain development, methylmercury may damage the kidneys and nervous system, trigger issues with vision and raise the risk of cardiovascular disease.

The World Health Organization also says the risk to pregnant women and children is particularly high.