Brit cabinet staple dominated ‘colossal threat to public well being’ – ‘cease consuming it’
Experts have warned that tins of tuna sold in the UK might be laced with a toxic metal. Methylmercury, known for its severe risks to pregnant women and children and potential cancer links, was detected in nearly all 150 cans sampled across France, Italy, Spain, Germany, and Britain for a study.
The tests revealed “contamination” with the metal, which is notorious for hampering brain development and causing potentially fatal lung damage. The investigation has led researchers to label the situation as “a colossal risk to public health” calling for “urgent” government intervention.
(Image: Getty Images)
Karine Jacquemart, the CEO of Foodwatch France – one of the organisations behind the alarming report – expressed grave concerns, stating: “What we end up with on our dinner plates is a colossal risk to public health that’s not considered seriously. We won’t give up until we have a more protective European standard.”
Currently, EU and UK regulations permit a maximum mercury content of 1 mg/kg in tuna and 0.3 mg/kg in other fish like cod. However, the joint study by Foodwatch and Paris-based NGO Bloom found mercury in all 148 tins tested, with 57 per cent exceeding the 0.3 mg/kg threshold.
(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
One tin from a Paris Carrefour City store hit a staggering 3.9 mg/kg of mercury – a whopping 13 times over the limit. In light of these findings, Bloom and Foodwatch are pressing European countries to “activate a safeguard clause” to halt the sale and promotion of products surpassing the 0.3mg/kg level, reports the Mirror.
They are urging governments to ban “all products” containing tuna from school canteens, nurseries, maternity wards, hospitals, and care homes, citing that the average European munches through over 2.8 kilos of tuna each year—that’s around 25 tins.
The World Health Organisation is particularly stressing about pregnant women and kids getting too chummy with high mercury levels. And if things weren’t dismal enough, cranking up the mercury dose has had rats and mice popping up with tumours in several studies.
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