While the presence of mercury in tuna is now widely recognized, certain municipalities have decided to ban this fish in school canteens. In total, eight cities decided to stop exposure to the heavy metals of the little ones.
Mercury contaminated tuna: children can very quickly “exceed the tolerable weekly dose”
Last October, the NGOs Bloom and Foodwatch had alerted to the generalized contamination of mercury tuna, noted in boxes at European level. Concretely, out of 148 cans of tuna tuna tested, 100% were contaminated.
According to the World Health Organization, this compound is a part “of the ten most worrying substances in the world“, In the same way as asbestos or arsenic. “Its derivative present in food, methylmercury, is even classified as a carcinogenic possible by the International Center for Research against Cancer (Circ)”, Recalls the Foodwatch association.
The 8 cities that ban the tuna of school canteens
For all these reasons, the cities of Bègles, Grenoble, Lille, Lyon, Montpellier, Mouans-Sartoux, Paris and Rennes, therefore decided to no longer serve as tuna products in school menus.
“Children can quickly exceed the tolerable weekly dose (DHT), that is to say the maximum unmanageable quantity regularly during a lifetime before exposing themselves to a health risk. More specifically, the survey showed that consumption in the week of one canned (100 g) containing mercury at the level authorized for tuna, would lead a 20kg child to ingest almost four times more mercury than this limit “, They warn in a press release.
What dangers for the brain and the development of children?
In detail, once ingested, this powerful neurotoxic can be housed in the brain and have devastating effects, “In particular on the neural development of the youngest (drop in QI, neuromotor disorders, behavioral disorders, memory disorders, etc.) “, hammer municipalities.
The government must “protect citizens”
For the eight town halls, the time is therefore serious. “It is the moral duty of the state and elected officials to protect citizens, starting with children”, they indicate.
In addition to this striking measure, the eight municipalities urge the Ministry of Health and that of Agriculture to assume their responsibilities by pleading to the European Commission in Brussels for a reduction in the maximum mercury content in the tuna at 0.3 mg/kg, a standard already in force for certain marine products.
They also encourage the government and French legislators to take immediate measures, without delay changes in European regulations, by prohibiting the sale of tuna -based products containing more than 0.3 mg/kg of mercury on the national territory.