Originally published February 2 2006
Report claims canned tuna endangers pregnant mothers
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
According to Newsday.com, canned tuna is especially high in mercury, posing a health risk to pregnant mothers and their unborn children.
Because of shoddy policing by the U.S. government and the influence of the fishing industry, mercury contamination in seafood is so bad that even tuna-fish sandwiches can be risky to eat.
A Chicago Tribune investigation has shown that canned tuna presents a far greater health hazard to American consumers than what the federal government and the tuna industry have led people to believe.
The government, for example, has stated repeatedly that canned light tuna is low in mercury and a nutritious choice for pregnant mothers and children.
What it doesn't tell you is that tens of millions of those cans actually contain tuna that is high in mercury.
A 161-pound woman - the average weight of women ages 18-45 - who ate a couple of sandwiches a week of that kind of light tuna would exceed the Environmental Protection Agency's guidelines for mercury exposure.
Skipjack has the lowest level of mercury - the average woman could eat almost three cans a week without consuming risky amounts of mercury.
Albacore and yellowfin have higher levels - she could eat no more than a can a week without risk.
Cans labeled as "light tuna," however, can be made with either skipjack (a smaller fish with low mercury levels) or yellowfin (a larger fish with three times the level of mercury).
Some light-tuna cans are labeled as "yellowfin" or "gourmet," signaling to shoppers that they may contain fish that generally has higher mercury levels.
Many other light-tuna cans offer no hint whether the tuna inside is skipjack or yellowfin.
Consumers, therefore, have no way of knowing which cans contain fish with higher levels of mercury.
No one knows how many people have been harmed by mercury in fish, but a recent government study estimated 410,000 babies born each year in the United States are at risk for mercury poisoning because of high levels in their mother's body.
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