Is canned tuna mercury risk?

IncredibleHulk

I am not sure if this should be in food area or here but since I asked re tuna here before....

I am getting on OK, have lost about 6 kilos and am at the highend of normal weight but still have big stomach.:(

But today someone told me eating tuna from tin is a mercury poisning risk, said one every 2 weeks would be enough. I have 2 most days The person was in USA, is it different there or is it just rubbish. I think I read this here before but I thought I would ask again in case there is update.


edit think I got it wrong it is not the tin. Here is what I was told:

If you're doing that every day[ 2 cans of tuna] or even every week, you'reaccumulating mercury, which is unsustainable. The cheap chunkhas 1/3 the mercury of the fancy white albacore, yet
even that much of the cheap chunk tuna as you describeis going to add up to a LOT of mercury fast.Suggest to vary your protein source widely.

Thanks

Roper

I eat lots of canned tuna, and on cold days I can't sustain an erection, but on hot days I can't keep the damn thing down. Could the mercury be the problem?

Supercell

Maybe if you eat 10 tins of the stuff a day then worry. Seriously if any food was so bad for you,that you could eat only once a week , it wouldn't be allowed on sale..no-way.

I eat about seven tins a week of the stuff (I'm allergic to any fresh fish, can eat any tinned stuff..go figure) and no harm yet ..way overblown stories.

IncredibleHulk

http://www.fsai.ie/news/press/pr_04/pr20040318.asp

Found above but it is from 2004

davyjose

Longfield wrote: »

Maybe if you eat 10 tins of the stuff a day then worry. Seriously if any food was so bad for you,that you could eat only once a week , it wouldn't be allowed on sale..no-way.

I think that's kinda naive - would you eat McDonald's every day with the attitude "if any food was so bad for you,that you could eat only once a week , it wouldn't be allowed on sale..no-way"?

Supercell

davyjose wrote: »

I think that's kinda naive - would you eat McDonald's every day with the attitude "if any food was so bad for you,that you could eat only once a week , it wouldn't be allowed on sale..no-way"?

Read my post again ..i said - "you could eat only once a week" ..in other words..if it was so bad that it was only safe to eat ONCE A WEEK!

Mc Donald's is pretty much as safe as other fat ass foods to eat every day if you choose, you'll become a lard ass and eventually suffer the same lard ass problems that all lard asses do..,

However the OP was asking if eating Tuna SPECIFICALLY was bad..answer is no, not unless you eat massive quantities of the stuff.
Niave is believing half the crap on the internet (including half the crap I post [at least]).
Go forth and eat tuna..and lose some weight fatties!

eroo

Yes Longfield is right...do you honestly think they would produce something that could poison you very easily...?Of course not!!It would tell how many times a week to consume a tin if it was dangerous but they don't so it IS fine to eat reguraly.Obviously if your eating 30-40 tins a week it is not good!

haha,lard ass...

Kevster

I used to eat two cans of the John West tuna everyday but now I only eat about 3 per week. Every other day I eat a tin of salmon (John West too). I don't think there have ever been any concrete studies done on the effects of eating such products with neurological / physiological disorders...

...best to be on the safe side though and vary your diet. Try to incorporate some chicken. It is low in fat and high in protein.

Hanley

Roper wrote: »

I eat lots of canned tuna, and on cold days I can't sustain an erection, but on hot days I can't keep the damn thing down. Could the mercury be the problem?

Is there a post of the year award?? Because that should probably get it.

smellslikeshoes

Although I think the risks of mercury poison are blown a little out of proportion by the internet, two cans a day is a hell of a lot. Mercury is a cumulative metal poison, If you were to eating 2 cans a day for substantial period of time you are running the risk of getting ill.

BossArky

How does the illness manifest itself? Blue face?

Many people here eat lots of tuna per day, myself included, and I don't think anyone has ever had problems. That doesn't mean there isn't a problem.

tribulus

It's something I worry about too since I eat 20 or more tins a week but as I said on the other one of these threads i've been doing this for a few years now and i'm still here so meh.

Leon11

The whole debate about eating too much tuna came about when some canadian researchers pulished a paper I think claiming that the mercury levels in tuna were too high.

linky http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2007/02/19/tuna-testing.html

davyjose

Longfield wrote: »

Read my post again ..i said - "you could eat only once a week" ..in other words..if it was so bad that it was only safe to eat ONCE A WEEK!

Mc Donald's is pretty much as safe as other fat ass foods to eat every day if you choose, you'll become a lard ass and eventually suffer the same lard ass problems that all lard asses do..,

However the OP was asking if eating Tuna SPECIFICALLY was bad..answer is no, not unless you eat massive quantities of the stuff.
Niave is believing half the crap on the internet (including half the crap I post [at least]).
Go forth and eat tuna..and lose some weight fatties!

I agree with your point, but I'm merely saying I wouldn't put too much faith in the food standards authorities. A bottle of Whiskey a week wouldn't do you much good in the long run.

Khannie

eroo wrote: »

Yes Longfield is right...do you honestly think they would produce something that could poison you very easily...?Of course not!!

Khannie

tribulus wrote: »

It's something I worry about too since I eat 20 or more tins a week but as I said on the other one of these threads i've been doing this for a few years now and i'm still here so meh.

More folly. Just because you've gotten away with it doesn't mean it's ok. I'm not saying tuna's unsafe, because I don't know, but the cigarette example I gave in the last post could be applied here too....

"I've been smoking 20 a day for years, and I'm still here, so they must be grand".

Wrong.

Supercell

Khannie wrote: »

More folly. Just because you've gotten away with it doesn't mean it's ok. I'm not saying tuna's unsafe, because I don't know, but the cigarette example I gave in the last post could be applied here too....

"I've been smoking 20 a day for years, and I'm still here, so they must be grand".

Wrong.

Come on, every heavy smoker wakes up coughing their lungs up and knows full well that inhaling burning leaves smoke isn't healthy (I quit smoking three years ago, so know full well what its like).

Contrast that with the person that doesn't smoke and eats a few tins of tuna a week.
He's probably built like a brick house and every morning feels great to be alive.

Leave the tuna alone, if more people ate tuna instead of smoking we would have a far far far more healthy society here.

Huggles

Agreed. Eating tuna and Smoking...ridiculous comparison.

Longfield wrote: »

Come on, every heavy smoker wakes up coughing their lungs up and knows full well that inhaling burning leaves smoke isn't healthy (I quit smoking three years ago, so know full well what its like).

Contrast that with the person that doesn't smoke and eats a few tins of tuna a week.
He's probably built like a brick house and every morning feels great to be alive.

Leave the tuna alone, if more people ate tuna instead of smoking we would have a far far far more healthy society here.

BossArky

What about smoked tuna?

flywheel

this seems to come up every few months... the forum search will list out some previous threads to review, here's a previous reply:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=54114911&postcount=13

read up and find out what is (currently) deemed 'safe' - also pay attention to the detail on the various types / age of tuna and how that affects the levels being measured...

BaZmO*

Roper wrote: »

I eat lots of canned tuna, and on cold days I can't sustain an erection, but on hot days I can't keep the damn thing down. Could the mercury be the problem?

Haha! Genius!

Jumpy

That took me far too long to get. Now I am laughing though.

Khannie

TheGooner wrote: »

Agreed. Eating tuna and Smoking...ridiculous comparison.

Really helpful post there. :rolleyes:

My points were basically:

1) Expecting the government to save you from poisoning yourself is naive at best
2) Just because you feel fine doesn't make it fine

I used smoking because it's an obvious example. I smoked for years and I felt "fine". Sure, I woke up coughing some mornings......non-smokers do too.

Like I said, I don't know if tuna is safe to eat or not, but I wont be basing my decision to eat it on feeling fine after eating it or expecting the government to save me from myself.

*I have a tin of tuna in my bag

flywheel

this is story is currently running on Euronews at the moment (see video link to watch the piece). interesting to see how mercury is concentrated at the north pole and it's entry into the food chain...

http://www.euronews.net/index.php?page=futuris&article=474767&lng=1

Snow scientists research falling mercury

European researchers are taking a close look at polar precipitation, trying to understand more about concentrations of mercury at the North Pole. It's part of a wide range of research projects undertaken for the "International Polar Year." Scientists are looking into how and why the highly toxic heavy metal is finding its way into the food chain. link: www.damocles-eu.org

nesf

Longfield wrote: »

Come on, every heavy smoker wakes up coughing their lungs up

I don't.


Was off them for four months, damn it.



The whole eating loads of tuna but I'm fine thing is a bit like saying that I've not gotten salmonella despite eating X raw eggs a day. Being lucky doesn't mean there's no risks involved. Though from the glances at the topic that I've done, the risks described in the OP are very much overblown.

cance

Roper wrote: »

I eat lots of canned tuna, and on cold days I can't sustain an erection, but on hot days I can't keep the damn thing down. Could the mercury be the problem?

thank you, i've just been sat here giggling like an eejit for the last five minutes, post of the year...

Beelzebub

You're probably more at risk from your fillings.

BTW I love Albacore tuna - the white one.
But I eat about 3 cans of it per week. Fukk it.

flywheel

Beelzebub wrote: »

I love Albacore tuna

that's the variety where the highest mercury levels were found

Gillo

tribulus wrote: »

It's something I worry about too since I eat 20 or more tins a week but as I said on the other one of these threads i've been doing this for a few years now and i'm still here so meh.

Do you not get seriously bored of the same food again and again??
Don't get me wrong I love tuna and if nothing else, it's a handy snake open the tin throw it on some brown bread- sorted. But that much and I'd be sick of it.

Faith

I researched this a bit recently, and it seems that most studies that I read agree that 340g is a safe amount to eat a week. A John West can is 130g when drained, so three a week would be about right.

Mercury is cumulative, so it's constantly building up in your body. It's when it reaches a critical level that you'll know about it, and then you have to act straight away to get it sorted. It can take years before you see any symptoms. It's not like the flu, you don't just get it. Telling yourself "I eat x amount a day and I'm fine" is no use in this case.

amazingemmet

Don't forget heavy metals are stored in fat cells more then other cells so going on a decent cut once and awhile can help clear out your system of metals and other things.