Korean Job Discussion Forums

[C00LAS1CE]

I'm sure most of you have heard about the dangers of eating US canned tuna due to the high mercury content, but now that I'm back in the gym working out and looking for extra protein, I hate to turn away such a good source of it. Does anyone have any information regarding this? All I could find googling was this site that mentioned this briefly:

"They showed some graphs (in Korean) about levels of certain fish. Large tuna was among the highest, since they are very high up the food chain. But, the program told worried Koreans not to worry about Korean canned tuna. The tuna that Koreans use to make canned tuna is generally from smaller tuna, which are not as high up the food chain, and therefore containing less mercury."

http://smileyjkl.blogspot.com/2010/02/mercury-levels-in-tuna.html

[smileyjkl]

Yea, I'm the owner of that blog. It's just what I saw on a documentary here in Korea. Don't take my word for 100% accuracy... It's just what I've heard. I tried to do some more research on the topic, but as I'm sure most info is in Korean it's a bit hard to track down. Unfortunately, there's plenty of environmental concerns about catching smaller fish. It's a catch twenty-two. Either you catch them big and they have lots of mercury or you catch them small and they don't have enough time to make more baby tunas to sustain the population... Good luck finding more info. If you do, post it here! I'd be interested!

[C00LAS1CE]

Come on, someone's got to know...

[computermichael]

There are different species of tuna. Albacore, which is what Americans generally know as canned "white" tuna, has a higher mercury content than skipjack, which is generally sold as canned "light" tuna in the US.

Korean fisherman aren't out catching baby tuna to protect everyone from mercury poisoning. Skipjack are smaller, have shorter life spans, and are more abundant. Because they don't live as long, they don't collect as much mercury.

http://water.epa.gov/scitech/swguidance/fishshellfish/outreach/advice_index.cfm

http://www.edf.org/page.cfm?tagID=15731

[lille]

People still eat tuna? Isn't that stuff endangered?

[smileyjkl]

Interesting. I didn't realize that there were various species of tuna. It makes me feel a little better about eating Korean tuna then.

[interestedinhanguk]

[MoneyKenny]

Hahaha!

[C00LAS1CE]

[oldtrafford]

Unless you're growing it, nothing is safe!!! Do you think your fruit and veg is covered in goodness!!!!!!!!!!!!