2024-10-29 10:44:00
In France, we eat on average 4.9 kilos of tuna per year (according to data from FranceAgriMer). But this tasty product could well be much more harmful to your health than it seems…
What are the nutritional benefits of canned tuna?
On paper, natural, canned and drained tuna is attractive. If we believe the Anses ciqual table, in 100 g of canned tunaon a :
111 kcal 26.8 g protein 0 carbohydrates, 0.4 g lipids 0.12 g polyunsaturated fatty acids (omega 3, omega 6) 50 mg cholesterol 6.26 mg calcium 0.76 mg iron 24 mg of magnesium 155 mg of phosphorus B vitamins, vitamin D, vitamin E
Enough to tip the scales in favor of canned tuna! However, canned tuna is debated… and rightly so. We’ll explain it to you.
What’s wrong with canned tuna?
Mercury! A metal present naturally in the environment, spontaneously transforming into even more toxic methylmercury in the ocean… and which would be present in 100% of the cans of tuna tested, up to toxic levels, according to the recent study unveiled by the Bloom associationin cooperation with the NGO Foodwatch. A danger that has already been pointed out for years and in particular by the magazine 60 Millions de Consommateurs which has been concerned for years about the presence of mercury, arsenic, cadmium and sometimes even traces of oocytes and heart fragments in the canned tuna! White tuna, yellowfin tuna, albacore tuna… Results? All brands of canned tuna tested are incriminated because contaminated with mercury, 10% exceed the current tolerated standard for fresh tuna (1 mg/kg) and, in France, one in particular has attracted the wrath of NGOs: the Petit Navire brand, whose can of white tuna with natural has a content of 3.9 mg/kg.
Are you wondering how is it possible that we ingest so much toxic metal? “The maximum mercury levels in tuna currently in force in Europe were established based on the rate of contamination of tuna observed and not based on the danger that mercury represents for human health, in order to ensure the sale of 95 % of tuna”notes the investigation carried out by the Bloom association. And where health standards require a limit of 0.3 mg per kilo of product for most fish, for canned tuna, the rate is limited to 1 mg per kilo!
Is mercury dangerous for health?
Did you know? Mercury is classified byWorld Health Organization (WHO) among the 10 substances of greatest concern for public health! What is he accused of? “A variable level of toxicity and effects on the nervous, digestive and immune systems, and on the lungs, kidneys, skin and eyes”indicates the World Health Organization (WHO). Symptoms of mercury exposure? Tremors, insomnia, memory loss, neuromuscular effects, headaches, motor and cognitive dysfunctions…
Naturally present in the environment, mercury is released by volcanic activity, rock erosion and – above all – human activities (coal-fired power plants, domestic use of coal for heating and cooking, industrial processes, incinerators waste, mining of mercury, gold and other metals…).
The main sources of exposure to mercury?
consumption of fish or shellfish contaminated with methyl mercury inhalation at work of elemental mercury vapors during industrial processes
Caution is required for pregnant women because mercury is particularly dangerous for fetuses, which are particularly sensitive to the effects of mercury on development.
To avoid ingesting too much mercury, it may be interesting to think about your consumption of canned tuna. If the French authorities recommend eating fish twice a week and favoring fatty fish, you can find healthier alternatives to canned tuna:
favor wild fishing, favor small fish such as salmon, sardines, herring, mackerel… rather than predatory fish such as tuna which, by feeding on small fish which are themselves polluted, become real reservoirs for heavy metals.
Tuna, a much overfished species
In all, 90% of the marine species that we consume are today overexploited, in other words overfished. And the one that poses the most problem for the NGO Greenpeace: tropical tuna (yellowfin tuna, yellowfin tuna, etc.), the same one that we find in the famous canned cans of the supermarket. Results ? In addition to causing this part of the marine population to halve, the technique used to fish for these fish (FAD for “Fish Concentration Devices”) pollutes the oceans and kills marine animals: 20% of these devices ( generally very large nets) are lost each year at sea. In 2016, the NGO Greenpeace widely documented tuna overfishing thanks to an expedition carried out in the heart of the Indian Ocean (between Madagascar and Mayotte). In line of sight? The large tuna groups in general and Thai Union, leader in canned tuna and owner of the French subsidiary Petit Navire, in particular accused of contributing to the overexploitation of the oceans, notably by excessively harvesting juvenile tuna and endangered animals such as sharks. .
Read also
Bluefin tuna: fishing ban in Europe Our best tuna recipes
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