Eight municipalities that represent more than 3.5 million inhabitants, including Paris and Lyon, temporarily prohibited tuna of the menus of their school canteens to “end the exhibition of children to Mercury”, a neurotoxic metal, announced this Thursday, August 28.
In October 2024, the NGOs Bloom and Food Watatch had alerted on the contamination of mercury tuna after an independent laboratory randomly tried 148 canned tuna cans by an independent laboratory.
The study had shown that 100% of the tested boxes were contaminated with Mercury, classified by the World Health Organization (WHO) among the ten most worrisome substances for public health.
“Devastating effects”
Criticizing the absence of measures taken from this study, the signatory cities, which are also part of Mouans-Sartoux (Alpes-Maritimes), Bègles, Grenoble, Lille, Montpellier and Rennes, decided to “not serve tuna-based products in school menus.”
“The first victims of this standard established without taking into account the health of consumers, children can quickly overcome the tolerable weekly dose (DHT), that is, the maximum unmanageable amount regularly during life before exposing a health risk,” alerts the eight signatory communities in a press release.
“Once ingested, this powerful neurotoxic can accommodate in the brain and have devastating effects, particularly on the neuronal development of the youngest (fall in QI, neuromotor disorders, behavioral disorders, memory disorders, etc.),” continues the press release.
According to Bloom, for more than one in two proven boxes, the mercury content exceeds the maximum limit set for other fish species, such as cod or anchovies, or 0.3 mg/kg. For tuna, the limit has been established in 1 mg/kg, but this threshold is calculated in the “fresh product”.
“Apply the precautionary principle”
However, depending on the NGO calculations, this is equivalent to a content of approximately 2.7 mg/kg in the canned, because the mercury is more concentrated once the product is dehydrated.
“What is quite surprising is that tuna has the right to a repeal of mercury compared to other fish. We want to apply the precautionary principle,” said Gilles Pérole, Vicalteros de Mouans-Sartoux.
The absence of tuna in the menus “cannot be checked without the maximum authorized mercury limit in the tuna that is reduced to the strictest content for Fish, namely, 0.3 mg/kg”, specifies the communities.
Source: BFM TV
