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00:00When it comes to the World Health Organisation's concern about public health, it's on the same
00:05list as asbestos and arsenic.
00:08Yet every one of the 148 tins of tuna analysed by the Bloom and Food Watch organisations
00:16were found to contain mercury.
00:19Selected at random in Britain, France, Italy, Germany and Spain, the levels, they say, are
00:25dangerous.
00:26The maximum level of mercury allowed in tuna is one milligram per kilo, and that's more
00:30than three times the limit allowed for other types of fish, a threshold that Bloom and
00:37Food Watch say was purposefully set to make sure that most tuna can be sold.
00:43The groups are accusing public health authorities and the tuna lobby of prioritising economic
00:48benefits over people's health.
00:52Public authorities have worked together with the tuna industry to specifically adapt the
00:56standards for tuna. They've effectively created a licence to contaminate people.
01:02Every tin that's contaminated with the permitted levels of mercury puts those eating the tuna
01:06at risk.
01:09Mercury is often spread through the air and tuna accumulate the heavy metals from eating
01:13their prey. Its ingestion by humans can lead to various brain disorders.
01:18Children who are exposed to mercury will develop more cognitive impairments compared to other
01:22children. Many studies have shown links between the exposure of foetuses or young children
01:26to mercury and a lower IQ, as well as attention, motor or coordination disorders.
01:33The groups are calling for tighter regulation and have launched a petition to ten of Europe's
01:37largest retailers, demanding that they ban advertising and add labels to tuna products
01:43to inform shoppers about the health risks associated with mercury.