Tests find high mercury levels in some storebought fish

LIBBY QUAID, "Tests find high mercury levels in some storebought fish",
San Francisco Chronicle, September 16, 2005,
Link:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...TL&type=health

Store-bought swordfish and tuna in California and 21 other states
contained mercury, with some showing levels above the legal limit,
according to a study by environmental groups.

A University of North Carolina lab found mercury in 24 swordfish
samples from supermarket chains including Safeway, Shaws, Albertsons
and Whole Foods.

The average level of mercury detected in the study was 1.1 parts per
million, just over the government's limit of 1.0 ppm, meaning that "50
percent of the time you're going to get a higher number," Jackie
Savitz, director of the seafood contamination campaign for the advocacy
group Oceana, said Thursday.

In California, a swordfish sample from a Petaluma Safeway had a mercury
level of .781 parts per million, and tuna from the same store
registered at .232 ppm, said Sam Haswell, also of Oceana.

A call for comment to Safeway's headquarters in Pleasanton, Calif., was
not immediately returned.

Groups that paid for the analysis want supermarkets to post signs
warning shoppers of health risks from mercury. They also want the
government to increase testing.

"The fact that mercury is consistently found in tuna and swordfish ...
is troubling, especially when there's no good communication of that to
the public," Savitz said.

California is unique among states in requiring the posting of warning
signs. Proposition 65, a 1986 law, mandates that businesses provide
"clear and reasonable" warnings when they expose consumers to known
reproductive toxins.

The federal government advises pregnant women, nursing mothers and
young children to avoid fish with high levels of mercury - shark,
swordfish, king mackerel or tilefish.

Elevated mercury levels have been linked to learning disabilities and
developmental delays in children. and to heart, nervous system and
kidney damage in adults.

California has sued three major canned tuna producers to require
mercury warning notices on their products.

State Attorney General Bill Lockyer has accused the federal government
of trying to kill the lawsuit. A letter last month from U.S. Food and
Drug Administration Commissioner Lester Crawford said federal law
pre-empts California's warning requirement.

General warning labels can scare some consumers away from food they
should be eating, the letter said.

A supermarket industry group said it was not surprised by the survey
because swordfish and tuna are known to have higher levels of mercury.
Many stores already offer brochures or post signs, the group said.

"The issue of asking for supermarkets to provide information at the
store level is something companies are either engaged in doing or in
the process of doing," said Karen Brown, senior vice president of the
Food Marketing Institute. "We also would not be opposed to increased
testing by FDA."

The Food and Drug Administration can take legal action to remove a
product from the market if mercury levels exceed the limit.

Traces of mercury are found in nearly all fish and shellfish. Released
through industrial pollution, mercury falls and accumulates in streams
and oceans as methylmercury. Methylmercury builds up in fish and
shellfish as they feed, in some types more than others.

However, eating fish also has widely acknowledged health benefits. The
American Heart Association advises people to eat fish at least twice a
week.

The FDA and Environmental Protection Agency advise even at-risk people
to eat up to 12 ounces - about two meals a week - of fish and
shellfish that are lower in mercury, such as shrimp, salmon, pollock,
catfish and canned light tuna.

FDA advises consumers to limit albacore, or "white," tuna to one meal
per week because it contains higher levels of mercury.