July 11, 2006
Testing done by the environmental group Defenders of Wildlife has found that tuna imported from many Latin American countries, including several samples from Ecuador, had significantly higher mercury concentrations than the FDA allows in tuna canned in the U.S.
Tests also found that the average mercury content in the imported light canned tuna sampled was more than twice the average for light tuna that the FDA found in their test samples and well above their cutoff for "low-mercury" fish.
In light of the test results, the Mercury Policy Project is urging U.S. agencies to take more precautionary measures to protect low-income and vulnerable Americans from exposure to mercury.
"The U.S. Government should stop subsidizing the tuna industry at the expense of exposing America's poorest and most vulnerable to mercury, a known neurotoxin," said Michael Bender, director of the Mercury Policy Project. "Like in Hawaii, we recommend that other animal protein substitutes be offered in Federal low income food assistance programs."
In 2005, the U.S. government purchased nearly 10 million pounds of tuna from the fishing industry at a cost of over $16 million dollars. Federal programs that purchase and distribute tuna include:
• Nutrition Services Incentive Program
• Child Nutrition Programs (primarily the National School Lunch Program)
• Emergency Food Assistance Program
• Food Distribution on Indian Reservations
• Pacific Island Assistance
"According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, canned tuna is the fish most consumed by pregnant women and children -- hence it is probably their largest exposure to mercury," said Bender. "Yet USDA's Women, Infant and Children program (WIC) provides over 8 million low-income women and children with 26 ounces of tuna per family per month, based on Food & Drug Administration advice which mistakenly assumes that all light tuna has low mercury levels."
Bender said that at least one state WIC program, Hawaii, has convinced USDA to allow canned salmon, a low mercury substitute, to be offered along with canned tuna. Yet other states can only provide canned tuna since it is the only animal protein source allowed under the Federal WIC program.
