Is the EU going to lower mercury allowed levels in tuna?

euronews (in English)

French NGO Bloom warns against a “health scandal of vast proportions” over mercury levels in tinned tuna. Their inquiry, published in October, echoed all over the world. Is it going to prompt a change in European legislation?

Transcript

00:00Is it safe, the food we eat?

00:04Tuna is the most consumed fish in Europe

00:06and it is one of the most contaminated with mercury.

00:12Out of 148 cans of tuna

00:14analyzed by the French NGO BLOOM

00:16in five European countries,

00:18the totality was contaminated with mercury.

00:22In some cases, the levels were four times higher

00:25than those allowed by law.

00:28Methylmercury, the most absorbed organic form of mercury

00:32is assimilated almost exclusively

00:34through the products of fishing.

00:37It is a potential cancer

00:39according to the International Cancer Research Agency.

00:43Why such high amounts of mercury

00:45end up in our food and with what consequences?

00:48For those who consume it, we talk about it on European Stories.

00:52Mercury concentrations in the oceans are increasing.

00:55The main cause is human activities.

00:59In the sea, some microorganisms

01:01transform mercury into methylmercury,

01:03an organic derivative that accumulates in fish.

01:07It is a powerful neurotoxic,

01:09particularly harmful for fetuses and newborns.

01:11High concentrations of mercury in newborns

01:13result in a lower IQ,

01:15less attention, less memory

01:17and reduced psychomotor performance.

01:19The larger the fish, such as tuna,

01:21the more methylmercury it contains.

01:24In Europe, the content of mercury

01:26allowed in fish such as pollack

01:28is 0.3 mg per kilo.

01:30The limit for fresh tuna is 1 mg per kilo.

01:34The ONG Bloom and Foodwatch

01:36say that this threshold is too high

01:38and that it is not always respected.

01:41The European Food Safety Authority

01:43says that mercury is not allowed

01:45in fish.

01:46The European Food Safety Authority

01:48says that the amount of mercury

01:50that can be absorbed without risk

01:52is 1.3 micrograms per kilo of weight per week.

01:55Tuna is the most consumed fish in Europe.

02:06In every can of tuna there is mercury

02:08and in 1 in 10 of those tested by the ONG Bloom

02:11the levels exceed the allowed thresholds.

02:15This 18-month investigation

02:17has raised the debate

02:19about food safety in Europe.

02:21A 25-year-old researcher

02:23met her in Paris.

02:45The research has brought to light

02:47what Bloom defines as a health scandal

02:49of vast proportions.

02:57Julie has not only worked on tuna samples

02:59analyzed by an external laboratory.

03:01She went back to European documents

03:03of the FAO and the WHO

03:05also from the 1960s

03:07to understand how the limit

03:09of 1 mg of mercury per kilo was set.

03:12She concluded that the authorities

03:14had defined the limits

03:16in accordance with the lobby of tuna.

03:42Bloom says that the lack of control

03:44in the tuna industry

03:46and in the distribution chain

03:48is one of the reasons

03:50why tuna has reached

03:52illegal levels of mercury

03:54in our supermarkets.

03:56We went back to the production chain

03:58and talked to different actors

04:00such as the competent authorities

04:02of a country that exports tuna

04:04to the European Union.

04:06We saw that the EU

04:08did not have very precise requirements

04:10for the level of mercury.

04:12Since 2023, in the instructions

04:14for the customs controls in France,

04:16we do not need to test

04:18the mercury of tuna boxes.

04:24The NGO Bloom and Foodwatch

04:26have launched a campaign

04:28to push national and European authorities

04:30to change the rules.

04:32What we ask in priority

04:34is to register in the French law

04:36that now we will apply to tuna

04:38the strictest level of mercury

04:40and then to defend this measure

04:42at the level of the European Commission.

04:54That same day,

04:56the NGO had a first meeting

04:58with the National Assembly.

05:00Bloom's delegation asked

05:02not only to lower mercury levels

05:04in tuna, but also to ban tuna

05:06in boxes in nursing homes, schools,

05:08hospitals, maternity wards

05:10and nursing homes.

05:12The meeting aroused interest

05:14but not yet a formal commitment.

05:16What happens at the European level?

05:28Bloom's revelations will lead

05:30to stricter measures for controversial

05:32foods such as tuna,

05:34health and food security

05:36of the European Commission.

06:04So you need to find a balance

06:06between protecting consumers

06:08from intake of pollutants.

06:10On the other hand, you also have

06:12to make sure that fish remains available

06:14on the market.

06:16So it's just a question of market?

06:18No, no, no. That is not correct.

06:20We look at two extremely important

06:22priorities that we translate

06:24in our maximum levels.

06:26Protecting consumers against contaminants

06:28and making sure that consumers

06:30can continue to reap the benefits

06:32of fish consumption.

06:34Shouldn't the EU impose banners

06:36in supermarkets warning against

06:38the risks of eating tuna?

06:40What I can say is we have guidance

06:42from the Commission with regards to

06:44consumption of fish, which

06:46let us not forget, is healthy.

06:48Levels can always be reduced

06:50if there is scientific evidence

06:52that makes it very clear that we should

06:54go to a reduction of the maximum

06:56level of contaminants.

06:58So don't you have enough scientific evidence

07:00that tuna should be less than one milligram?

07:02When it comes to scientific evidence,

07:04we follow the colleagues of the European

07:06Food Safety Authority.

07:08I cannot comment on one report of one NGO.

07:10I cannot do that, of course.

07:12If you want to check the scientific

07:14strength of such reports,

07:16it's best to check that with the scientists.

07:18It is the European Food Safety Authority,

07:20EFSA, that provides the Commission

07:22with the scientific basis

07:24for its decisions.

07:26But EFSA has not received any request

07:28from the Commission to update

07:30its 2012 evaluations

07:32on the risks of mercury in food.

07:36While we wait for more restrictive

07:38restrictions to be applied,

07:40we continue to eat tuna in a box

07:42rich in protein, omega-3 and mercury.

07:46Until then, it will be up to us Europeans

07:48to inform and protect ourselves.

07:58For more UN videos visit www.un.org

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