Mercury and Tuna: The Latest Catch
photo by dave lifson
Hope you all had a lovely Valentine’s Day weekend. The Man surprised me and took me to a lovely dinner on Saturday night (alas, it was all work no fun on Sunday). There wasn’t chocolate involved, but he made some cream cheese brownies later during the weekend. Dangerous.
I did make it to the gym Saturday afternoon which is a good thing considering how amazing his brownies are. I spent then entire gym trip concentrating on leg strengthening. I might have been yelping every time I sat down yesterday. And maybe I was walking like a cowboy.
Now that V Day is over, let’s move on to something a little less romantic … tuna. Yup, doesn’t that just scream date night? Really, though, I love tuna. For years, it was the only type of fish I’d eat. (Don’t ask me why. I know it’s one of the fishiest tasting. I guess it’s psychological.) And even still, it’s the only place I like mayo. On anything else, the white globby stuff makes me gag. In fact, I don’t even like to touch it. Or think about it. And now I’m doing just that. Ick.
Anyhow, I read an article today that said more than half of 300 tested samples of brand-name canned tuna had more mercury than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) deems safe. But the same report only found that 5 percent of the tuna contained more mercury than the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says is safe.
photo by ohdearbarb
Err? (Imagine in your head the sound of suddenly stopping a record in mid-spin. Thanks.)
It’s not as confusing as it sounds: The EPA and FDA have separate mercury standards. Don’t ask me why. The EPA says there should be no more than 0.5 parts per million (ppm) of mercury in fish. The FDA’s level is no more than 1 ppm.
All right, all right. If you must know, the reason the two agencies can’t agree on a standard is because the FDA regulates commercially caught fish, which is most of the tuna at the grocery store. The EPA sets standards for recreationally caught fish. So there.
Back to the study: The researchers found that white or albacore tuna had higher mercury concentrations than light tuna. Of course that’s the case. I only eat albacore.
The study’s authors don’t expect us to stop eating tuna. (Heck no, it’s cheap, easy, and full of omega-3 fatty acids.) Still, they say at-risk people—like pregnant women or nursing moms—should be cautious and limit their intake to no more than 12 ounces of light tuna a week. Or 6 ounces of albacore.
I’m going to be honest: This probably won’t change how much tuna I eat. And it’s not going to force me to eat light instead of albacore. I don’t eat it every day, but a tuna sandwich is a pretty easy lunchtime meal. Add some diced celery, pickles, lettuce, and olives—perfect.
One final thing: If you live in Massachusetts or any other state that sells Geisha albacore tuna in water, stock up. There was a time in my life that I sent an e-mail to Geisha telling them how amazing their tuna is … and asking if they could expand to Pennsylvania. So, yeah, I never heard back. On the plus side, my mother shipped me stockpiles of Geisha in care packages along with Panera gift cards and jelly beans. I never went hungry.
Now I’ve discovered 365 tuna which is equally as good as Geisha. (Sorry, pals, but you don’t sell in Virginia either. What’s with that?) In case you were wondering. In case you’re as obsessed with finding a good can of tuna like I am.
Do you all eat tuna? How do you like it—in a sandwich, on crackers, in Hamburger Helper Tuna Casserole à la 1986?
13 comments
I love tuna…tuna fish and tuna casserole are my favorite. But I rarely eat it…probably at most once a month. I’m not sure why, but maybe it’s because I’m subconsciously processing all of the info. I hear about mercury everywhere.
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Tuna is great. Sandwiches certinaly…pitas, wraps, crackers, anything really. I understnad about the mercury. But its just a matter of not eating tuna 5x a day
I doubt it will hurt to have tuna throughout the week, just not for 6 meals a day 
cheesecake brownies
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I love tuna! My two faves are either good old fashioned tunafish or seared raw tuna filet. GOODNESS!!!
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I don’t eat much tuna these days, but it’s great when mixed into rice and beans! It would also be yummy on a sandwich with hummus, methinks.
I have so many mixed feelings about these kinds of reports. I think it’s worth it to take it all with a grain of salt… I haven’t really made up my mind about how I feel about the tuna/mercury dilemma, so that’s part of the reason why I don’t eat it as much (as well as environmental reasons).
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before i went fully veg and still ate fish i had a phase for a few months where i ate a can of tuna EVERY day. i’m not an alarmist about mercury, but even i can see that it prob wasn’t a great idea. i wasn’t pregnant or nursing, but i don’t want to start glowing in the dark or something either
. i’m not a mayo fan but it can be good in tuna, but how i loved it was just mixed straight up with mustard. sounds weird but tasted great!
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I’ve heard about mercury in tuna. It really is good for you. Even though I don’t eat it I hope that people don’t take this as a scare and stop consuming this awesome source of protein!
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I am so torn on the mercury thing. Tuna is one of the few fish I enjoy but I haven’t eaten it in years because of the mercury concern. Thanks for the info!
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i love tuna!! i eat it a lot, but i guess i could cut it down to like once a week. thanks for the info!
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That is interesting! And I happen to love tuna. It’s also one of the few places I eat mayo.. I can’t stand the way mayo smells. Yuck.
I like it on a sandwich or with crackers. But I also like tuna sashimi and tuna steak.
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Fascinating facts about the difference between the FDA and EPA. Who knew? I’m veg, so no tuna for me.
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Big fan as well! I prefer albacore, and since the mercury scare, I prefer to buy it at Trader Joe’s. I’m aware this doesn’t guarantee much, but it makes me feel a little better…
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Tracey Reply:
February 17th, 2010 at 12:24 am
Amy, glad you found my blog!
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I hope that people don’t take this as a scare and stop consuming this awesome source of protein!
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