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UK food watchdog warns of mercury risk in tuna
19th February 2003
LONDON - Pregnant women, breastfeeding women and those planning babies should limit their consumption of tuna because mercury found in the fish could present a health hazard, Britain's Food Standards Agency said.
The groups concerned are advised to eat no more than two medium-sized cans of tuna a week due to a low risk that mercury in them could harm an unborn child's developing nervous system.
"It is unlikely that many pregnant or breast-feeding women eat more than the recommended amounts of these fish every week. But for any that currently do, it would be a sensible precaution to change their diets slightly," FSA acting food safety director Andrew Wadge said.
"This will help protect the unborn child and the developing breast-fed baby. When planning to have a baby and whilst pregnant or breast-feeding, women do need to take particular care of their health and that of their baby," he added.
Mercury is released naturally into the environment through the earth's crust and oceans, and almost all of the fish consumed by humans contain trace amounts.
The new advice on tuna does not apply to children or any other adults.
But infants and children under 16 were still warned to avoid eating shark, swordfish and marlin, which have levels of mercury approximately 5-7 times higher than canned tuna and 2-4 times higher than fresh tuna, the agency said.
A survey of fish carried out by the FSA in 2002 revealed relatively high levels of mercury in some types of large predatory fish.
The new advice was issued after a review by Britain's independent Committee on Toxicity (COT) on the possible risks.
The committee compared levels of mercury found in fish against World Health Organisation safety guidelines for weekly intake of mercury.
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
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