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thepeel
Joined: 08 Aug 2004
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 Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2008 7:58 pm Post subject: High Mercury Levels Are Found in Tuna Sushi |
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Recent laboratory tests found so much mercury in tuna sushi from 20 Manhattan stores and restaurants that at most of them, a regular diet of six pieces a week would exceed the levels considered acceptable by the
Sushi from 5 of the 20 places had mercury levels so high that the Food and Drug Administration could take legal action to remove the fish from the market. The sushi was bought by The New York Times in October.
�No one should eat a meal of tuna with mercury levels like those found in the restaurant samples more than about once every three weeks," said Dr. Michael Gochfeld, professor of environmental and occupational medicine at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in Piscataway, N.J.
Dr. Gochfeld analyzed the sushi for The Times with Dr. Joanna Burger, professor of life sciences at Rutgers University. He is a former chairman of the New Jersey Mercury Task Force and also treats patients with mercury poisoning.
The owner of a restaurant whose tuna sushi had particularly high mercury concentrations said he was shocked by the findings. �I�m startled by this,� said the owner, Drew Nieporent, a managing partner of Nobu Next Door. �Anything that might endanger any customer of ours, we�d be inclined to take off the menu immediately and get to the bottom of it.�
Although the samples were gathered in New York City, experts believe similar results would be observed elsewhere.
�Mercury levels in bluefin are likely to be very high regardless of location,� said Tim Fitzgerald, a marine scientist for Environmental Defense, an advocacy group that works to protect the environment and improve human health.
Most of the restaurants in the survey said the tuna The Times had sampled was bluefin.
In 2004 the Food and Drug Administration joined with the Environmental Protection Agency to warn women who might become pregnant and children to limit their consumption of certain varieties of canned tuna because the mercury it contained might damage the developing nervous system. Fresh tuna was not included in the advisory. Most of the tuna sushi in the Times samples contained far more mercury than is typically found in canned tuna.
Over the past several years, studies have suggested that mercury may also cause health problems for adults, including an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and neurological symptoms.
Dr. P. Michael Bolger, a toxicologist who is head of the chemical hazard assessment team at the Food and Drug Administration, did not comment on the findings in the Times sample but said the agency was reviewing its seafood mercury warnings. Because it has been four years since the advisory was issued, Dr. Bolger said, �we have had a study under way to take a fresh look at it.�
No government agency regularly tests seafood for mercury.
Tuna samples from the Manhattan restaurants Nobu Next Door, Sushi Seki, Sushi of Gari and Blue Ribbon Sushi and the food store Gourmet Garage all had mercury above one part per million, the �action level� at which the F.D.A. can take food off the market. (The F.D.A. has rarely, if ever, taken any tuna off the market.) The highest mercury concentration, 1.4 parts per million, was found in tuna from Blue Ribbon Sushi. The lowest, 0.10, was bought at Fairway.
When told of the newspaper�s findings, Andy Arons, an owner of Gourmet Garage, said: �We�ll look for lower-level-mercury fish. Maybe we won�t sell tuna sushi for a while, until we get to the bottom of this.� Mr. Arons said his stores stocked yellowfin, albacore and bluefin tuna, depending on the available quality and the price.
At Blue Ribbon Sushi, Eric Bromberg, an owner, said he was aware that bluefin tuna had higher mercury concentrations. For that reason, Mr. Bromberg said, the restaurant typically told parents with small children not to let them eat �more than one or two pieces.�
Koji Oneda, a spokesman for Sushi Seki, said the restaurant would talk to its fish supplier about the issue. A manager at Sushi of Gari, Tomi Tomono, said it warned pregnant women and regular customers who �love to eat tuna� about mercury levels. Mr. Tomono also said the restaurant would put warning labels on the menu �very soon.�
Scientists who performed the analysis for The Times ran the tests several times to be sure there was no mistake in the levels of methylmercury, the form of mercury found in fish tied to health problems.
The work was done at the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, in Piscataway, a partnership between Rutgers and the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
Six pieces of sushi from most of the restaurants and stores would contain more than 49 micrograms of mercury. That is the amount the Environmental Protection Agency deems acceptable for weekly consumption over a period of several months by an adult of average weight, which the agency defines as 154 pounds. People weighing less are advised to consume even less mercury. The weight of the fish in the tuna pieces sampled by The Times were 0.18 ounces to 1.26 ounces.
In general, tuna sushi from food stores was much lower in mercury. These findings reinforce results in other studies showing that more expensive tuna usually contains more mercury because it is more likely to come from a larger species, which accumulates mercury from the fish it eats. Mercury enters the environment as an industrial pollutant.
In the Times survey, 10 of the 13 restaurants said at least one of the two tuna samples bought was bluefin. (It is hard for anyone but experts to tell whether a piece of tuna sushi is bluefin by looking at it.)
By contrast, other species, like yellowfin and albacore, generally have much less mercury. Several of the stores in the Times sample said the tuna in their sushi was yellowfin. |
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/23/dining/23sushi.html?hp=&pagewanted=all
Damn. I eat tuna sushi 2-3 times a week. Is there any way to tell, beyond asking, if the tuna is bluefin? |
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ultra
Joined: 09 Nov 2007
Location: Book Han Gook Land Of Opportunity
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| Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2008 1:37 pm Post subject: |
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Mercury Free Tuna brings back Girlawhirl�s favorite lunch
Jun 26, 2007
There�s no denying the convenience � and diet benefits � of canned tuna. But Girlawhirl had to cross this low-calorie, high protein option off her homemade lunch list because of the high mercury content in most large bluefin, yellowfin and albacore tuna. But she just found the answer to keeping her favorite lunchtime sandwich on the menu�
Forget the major tuna brands. Girlawhirl�s found a canned tuna that tastes as fresh as if she�d fished it herself � if she did in fact fish. Oregon�s Choice Gourmet Albacore canned tuna is high in heart-healthy Omeaga-3 fatty acids, and low in calories, sodium and fat. But what really gets Girlawhirl excited is the worry free enjoyment. That�s because Oregon�s Choice � using the hook and line method so it�s completely safe for other marine life, including dolphins � fishes the waters far off the Pacific coast and only brings back the smaller, younger fish that haven�t had time to allow metal deposits, like mercury, to build up in their tissue. So now she can enjoy fresh tasting canned tuna at home without the worries of consuming too much mercury.
Besides the major mercury-free benefits of Oregon�s Choice, the flavors are fun too. With options like Jalapeno Garlic and Smoked Albacore, Girlawhirl can have a new and interesting lunch every day. Plus, Oregon�s Choice seals the fresh tuna fillet with its naturally good for you fish oils and cooks it only once � unlike major tuna companies that precook the fish, replace the healthy fish oils with vegetable oil or water and then cook it again eradicating all of those good Omega-3s.
So for fresh tasting tuna without worries, Girlawhirl�s favorite choice is now Oregon�s Choice. She even buys it by the caseload to keep up with her busy schedule and heart-healthy demands.
Girlawhirl purchased her Oregon�s Choice Gourmet Albacore online at oregonschoice.com.
Girlawhirl Giveaway! Oregon�s Choice Gourmet Albacore tuna is part of this week�s Girlawhirl Giveaway! You�re already registered if you�ve signed up once and have a girlawhirl login. Not registered? sign up. |
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Kuros
Joined: 27 Apr 2004
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| Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2008 8:24 pm Post subject: |
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NYTimes' scaremongering about mercury
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| In the Seychelles, where mothers eat an average of 12 serving of fish a week, the team enrolled 779 newborns in their study, reports this 1998 University of Rochester press release. That group constituted about half of all live births on the island republic that year. The researchers returned to assess the children with a battery of developmental and neurological tests at 6, 19, 29, and 66 months of age. The fish eaten in the Seychelles contains the same amount of mercury found in fish consumed in the United States. No ill effects on the children or mothers have been discovered in the ongoing study, leading the scientists to encourage fish consumption, especially "in societies where fish is the primary source of protein." |
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