Tuna Sushi From LA Restaurants Tests High for Mercury

LOS ANGELES, California, March 7, 2006 (ENS) - Tuna sushi purchased in six Los Angeles restaurants tested high in toxic mercury in a survey conducted earlier this year by an environmental health advocacy group. In results made public Monday, the tuna that was tested averaged double the mercury levels reported by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Investigators from Turtle Island Restoration Network and its GotMercury.Org program visited six of LA's top sushi restaurants and submitted samples of their tuna sushi to an independent laboratory in southern California for testing. The results showed that on average tuna sushi contained mercury levels of 0.721 parts per million (ppm). These levels are close to the levels of king mackerel, which the FDA instructs women of childbearing age and children never to eat.

“Our study confirms that the FDA should immediately revise its March 2004 mercury in seafood advisory to clarify that women and children should stop eating almost all tuna,” said Eli Saddler, public health analyst for GotMercury.Org, a project of the Mercury Education and Response Campaign of Turtle Island Restoration Network.

A selection of sushi including several types of tuna, or ahi, shown in the lower row right side and the third row right. (Photo credit unknown)

Fish that grow large and are long-lived bioaccumulate the most mercury. Also, since the FDA blends multiple tissue samples for testing, average mercury levels are reported as lower than what individually tested samples of tuna show, he points out.

Dishes of raw fish and rice known as sushi, or the raw fish alone called sashimi, are increasingly popular in the United States. Zagat Survey announced at the release of their 2006 restaurant guides that “sushi restaurants lead the Top Food and/or Most Popular lists” in nearly all U.S. cities.

But diners take a risk of ingesting toxic mercury with their tuna sushi or sashimi and should be aware of the risks of consuming, especially women who are or intend to become pregnant and children, a number of federal and state agencies warn.

Babies in the womb and young children are particularly vulnerable to methylmercury, the toxic organic form found in fish, because it can harm neurological development, resulting lower IQ, cardiovascular ailments, and motor skill problems.

The FDA has set a maximum permissible level of one part of methylmercury in a million parts of seafood (1 ppm). The FDA and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) already warn women and children not to eat king mackerel (0.730 ppm), swordfish (0.970 ppm), shark (0.988 ppm), and tilefish (1.45 ppm).

But Saddler says the FDA has failed to warn the public about the risks of tuna sushi, also known by its Hawaiian name "ahi," although new data shows it contains high levels of methylmercury.

The FDA published new data in 2006 that showed bigeye tuna, popular as sushi and sashimi though also sold as “ahi”, averaged 0.639 ppm – nearly as high as king mackerel. However, the FDA has failed to alert women and children to this real and specific threat, despite the fact that tuna is the second most common fish eaten by the American public, Saddler says.

"Our test results show that individual tuna sushi or sashimi can result in exposures that are considered unhealthy by the FDA and should be included as ones to avoid for sensitive populations," he writes in the report.

A chunk of sushi grade tuna (Photo credit unknown)

Mercury's harmful effects that may be passed from the mother to the fetus include brain damage, mental retardation, incoordination, blindness, seizures, and inability to speak, the agency says. Children poisoned by mercury may develop problems of their nervous and digestive systems, and kidney damage.

"Mercury contamination is a serious issue for pregnant women, children, and women who are even considering getting pregnant," said Erin Thompson of Women's Voices for the Earth. "Women buy tuna for themselves and their children. Therefore, it is absolutely critical that women be informed about what types of tuna to avoid, and it the responsibility of the FDA to provide this information."

The Los Angeles area restaurants tested were Matsuhisa, Katsu-ya, Sushi Sasabune, Hamasaku, Sushi Nozawa, and Benihana in Santa Monica, but the GotMercury.Org investigators are careful to point out that sushi in other restaurants may also contain high levels of methylmercury.

"Sushi lovers outside of Los Angeles should not assume that their tuna is any safer and should expect that mercury levels could vary widely," the report warns.

These FDA and California fish consumption warning signs, posted at one California restaurant, should be posted at all restaurants and shops that sell fish high in mercury, Turtle Island Restoration Network advises. (Photo courtesy TIRN)

"The most important point of this sampling is that even in the same restaurant, consumers have no way of knowing how much mercury they are exposing themselves to whenever they order tuna, whether its in sushi, sashimi, or sold as a steak," Saddler says.

“The smart choice for sushi lovers is to avoid tuna and to eat pick other sushi favorites like shrimp or salmon that have little or no mercury,” said Saddler.

As a result of these tests, the Turtle Island Restoration Network and its GotMercury.Org program recommend:

• The FDA should revise its warnings to include clarification of the warnings regarding tuna consumption by women and children.

• The FDA should require restaurants and grocery stores that sell sushi or other seafood should be required to post the FDA mercury advisory at a minimum.

• The FDA should improve food safety by requiring mercury testing of more fish and shellfish with inexpensive rapid testing technology now available.

• Restaurants and grocery stores should stop selling the fish high in mercury unless seafood suppliers provide proof that that fish being sold do not exceed the FDA’s 1-ppm limit.

• In the absence of federal leadership, states should take the initiative to enact legislation similar to California’s Proposition 65 law that requires point-of-sale mercury warnings.

• Women and children should not eat tuna served as sushi or sashimi.