Safety Evaluations of Canned Tuna Containing Residues of Methyl Mercury

The White Paper:

Joseph V. Rodrick and James T. Heimbach, ENVIRON Corporation, March 1998. http://www.tunafacts.com/

Review This White Paper’s Executive Summary:
http://www.tunafacts.com/

The Purpose of this White Paper:
To conduct a safety evaluation of canned tuna and to identify the origins of methylmercury residues in canned tuna.

Some Background, Methods, Results, Caveats, and Other Select Points:

• This white paper is not a peer-reviewed, scientific paper.
• This white paper was first publicly distributed in 1998.
• The authors used two alternative approaches to conduct a safety evaluation of canned tuna. Approach number one measured methylmercury residue data for tuna with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) action level for methylmercury in seafood. Approach number two used standard risk assessment methods and scientific analyses of methylmercury toxicity developed by such authoritative bodies as the World Health Organization (WHO) together with data of people eating canned tuna to reach conclusions about potential risk from mercury.
• FDA found that the average amount of methylmercury per can of tuna was very small when they looked at 220 cans of canned tuna in 1991.
• Applying FDA’s data, these authors found that the average amount of methylmercury in canned tuna is less than one-fifth of the FDA’s methylmercury action level.
• A review of methylmercury found in about 4,000 samples of canned and whole tuna from other surveys found that no sample had methylmercury amounts above the FDA methylmercury action level.

A Bottom Line:
Eating a moderate amount of fish as part of a balanced diet poses no risk from methylmercury exposure to people in the United States.

These authors examined regulatory limits that describe safe levels of methylmercury in seafood. They then reported that a woman of childbearing age would have to eat up to 38 two-ounce servings of canned tuna every day to exceed these methylmercury amounts.

The average, U.S. woman eats canned tuna about once a month.

Find This White Paper for Your Review:
Safety Evaluations of Canned Tuna Containing Residues of Methyl Mercury. http://www.tunafacts.com/