Average Mercury Content In US-Bought Tuna Sushi Exceeds EPA Daily Consumption Limits

[hatrack]

TUNA sushi bought at a range of US restaurants and supermarkets had mercury that breached levels set by health watchdogs, a study published said. The offending samples included bluefin tuna, the hugely-prized species that has been plunged into a fierce conservation battle, the researchers reported in the British journal Biology Letters.

One hundred sushi samples were collected from 54 restaurants and 15 supermarkets in New York, New Jersey and Colorado, comprising "akami'' (lean red tuna) as well as "toro'' (fatty tuna). The species were identified using a DNA fingerprint test and the samples were then tested for mercury levels.

A leading benchmark for safety is a maximum daily consumption of 0.1 micrograms of mercury per kilo of human bodyweight per day, set by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Calculated on the basis of a 60-kilo adult woman consuming a single order, samples of Bigeye tuna toro were found to have average mercury levels of 0.351 micrograms per kilo, while Bigeye tuna akami had 0.344 micrograms.

Bluefin toro samples had the equivalent of 0.123 micrograms per kilo of bodyweight per day, and bluefin akami 0.180. Yellowfin tuna, found in the samples only as akami, had 0.164 micrograms of mercury per kilo of bodyweight.

EDIT

http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/tuna-sushi-in-us-busts-recommended-levels-for-mercury/story-e6frfku0-1225856122863

[OKIsItJustMe]

1. Just don't eat it all at once

Think of it as your sushi treats for the week.

[Warpy]

3. I restrict high mercury stuff

to once every six months and I'm OLD.

I can't imagine not growing up confronted by a plateful of tuna, canned cream of mushroom soup and noodles and the command to eat it or wear it, but it's safer for kids not to eat high mercury fish, at all. I guess Mom is going to have to learn how to make shit on a shingle to torment them.

[OKIsItJustMe]

4. Gotta remember those "Irony" tags

(Even my spoken delivery is "deadpan.")

[no_hypocrisy]

2. Why aren't they banned due to the mercury concentrations?

Consumers are being poisoned.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

5. So don't eat it every day?

:shrug:

So long as people are reasonably informed, I don't think this is a problem.

[wroberts189]

6. And here I thought food I bought was safe to eat without having to watch the news..silly me. nt

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

7. Caveat Emptor

Perhaps ignorance isn't bliss.
:shrug:

[wroberts189]

11. "Let the buyer beware" ..and here I thought we had an effective FDA ..silly me again. :) nt

[MineralMan]

9. And as long as you eat your Toro sushi only occasionally,

you'll be just fine. Notice the word "daily" in the op.

Ever eat a tuna sandwich? Mercury in that, too.

[wroberts189]

10. And if I did not read DU and other sources everyday I would not know that....

How many pregnant women out there buying cheap tuna know this? Hell 28% of the US pop. still do not believe in climate change.

[MineralMan]

8. Who can afford to eat sushi every day, especially tuna?

I think I manage to eat tuna sushi about once a year. I guess I'll be OK. Roll sushi's cheaper, anyhow. :rofl:

[hatrack]

12. Especially bluefin . . .

I've already given up maguro and toro, along with shrimp. I just can't eat them in good conscience anymore.

[Kolesar]

13. In other news, nobody cares if sushi eaters get brain damage

:stolen from the Daily Show:

[Nihil]

14. Maybe it's too hard to tell the difference? (n/t)

:hide: