![]() It is unlikely many consumers will reach these limits. For pregnant people (or people trying to get pregnant), the limit would be around 12 tins (at 95g a tin) a week. You would have to eat around 25 tins (at 95g a tin) of it a week before you hit the maximum tolerable intake of mercury. All three tins had slightly different levels of mercury but even the "worst" one wasn't that bad. We found none of the canned tuna brands exceeded the safe consumption levels for mercury of 0.5 milligrams of mercury a kilogram. Given the very low sample numbers, our data is just a snapshot of mercury concentrations. As part of the Catalyst program in 2015, we analysed mercury concentrations in Australian fish including three tins of canned tuna purchased from the supermarket. Our laboratory is well equipped to measure mercury concentrations in fish. Pregnant women are advised to limit their fish intake because of placental transfer of mercury to the unborn foetus and the effect of mercury on neural development. The dose for pregnant women is approximately half this value - 1.6 micrograms per kilogram of body weight per week). 1,000 micrograms (µg) is 1 milligram (mg).(The guidelines assume all mercury in fish is present as the more harmful methylmercury as a worst case scenario). The maximum dose of mercury set for the general population is 3.3 micrograms per kilogram of body weight per week. This limit is known as the "provisional tolerable weekly intake" or PTWI. In other words, how much mercury you can safely have from food sources (not just fish). After all, it is the dose that makes the poison.īased on international guidelines, Food Standards Australia New Zealand also provides recommended safe limits for dietary intake. ![]() ![]() ![]() However, whether mercury is harmful or not also depends on the amount of fish you eat and how often. Two separate maximum levels are imposed for fish ― a level of 1.0 mg mercury/kg for the fish that are known to contain high levels of mercury (such as swordfish, southern bluefin tuna, barramundi, ling, orange roughy, rays and shark) and a level of 0.5 mg/kg for all other species of fish. How much mercury can we have?Īccording to Food Standards Australia New Zealand: So, the fact the canned tuna in Australian cupboards is likely to contain smaller species is already a bonus when it comes to reducing mercury risk.īut let's drill down to the details. Skipjack are the smallest of the major tuna species, while yellowfin are larger. Skipjack and yellowfin are the main tuna species listed as ingredients in canned tuna in brands sold at Australian supermarkets. So this concern has largely been associated with the use of tuna species such as albacore and larger tuna specimens. Mercury concentrations are higher in predatory fish such as tuna and generally increase with age and size. Over the years, some scientists have raised concerns about high concentrations of mercury in canned tuna. Tuna in Australian cupboards is likely smaller species
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