Hazards: Mercury Prompts a New Call to Limit Tuna

By RONI CARYN RABIN

Consumers Union is urging pregnant women to avoid eating tuna altogether and advising small children to limit consumption after tests on dozens of cans and pouches of tuna found mercury in every sample. The tuna was bought in the New York metropolitan area and online.

“White” tuna generally contained more mercury than “light” tuna, but some light tuna contained enough that a woman of childbearing age eating less than a can a week would exceed federal recommendations for mercury consumption, the new Consumer Reports study says. The metal can affect fetal development.

The average amount of mercury found by Consumer Reports in white tuna samples was 0.427 parts per million, compared with the average 0.353 p.p.m. found in F.D.A. tests in 2002-04. The average in light tuna was 0.071 p.p.m., lower than the 0.118 p.p.m. found by the F.D.A.

Consumers Union urges women of childbearing age to be more careful about their tuna consumption than current F.D.A. guidelines advise, because mercury accumulates in the body over time.

Children who weigh less than 45 pounds should limit intake to 4 ounces of light or 1.5 ounces of white tuna a week, and heavier children no more than 12.5 ounces of light or 4 ounces of white tuna a week, Consumers Union says.

The National Fisheries Institute took issue with the report, saying the Consumer Reports recommendations were “reckless” and had “the potential to harm public health,” because fish contains omega-3 fatty acids, which may be beneficial during pregnancy.

Source:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/14/health/research/14hazards.html?ref=health
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