Eight cities, including Paris and Lyon, are taking tuna off their school menus from the start of the new term on Monday after research showed high levels of mercury in tinned tuna fish, prompting fears over risks to children's health.
The French municipalities of Paris, Lille, Lyon, Grenoble, Montpellier, Rennes, Bègles and Mouans-Sartoux have "temporarily removed" the popular fish in their school meals.
The decision came after a study last year by campaign groups Bloom and Foodwatch revealed the tinned fish can contain toxic levels of mercury. Samples from the 148 cans of tuna bought in France, Germany, England, Spain and Italy all tested positive for mercury contamination. Some cans contained levels four times higher than EU regulations allow, the study said.
The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies mercury as one of the 10 most dangerous chemicals threatening public health.
"Mercury is a powerful neurotoxin that binds to the brain and is very difficult to get rid of," said reseacher Julie Guterman, one of the report's authors.
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Alerts can't be ignored
The eight cities said they felt obliged to take the initiative.
"No action has been taken by national and European political leaders or the tuna industry to protect consumers, especially children" the eight deputy mayors responsible for food said in a joint press release sent to France Inter public radio on Thursday.
"We try to be consistent and serve food that respects both health and the environment," said Gilles Pérole, deputy mayor of Mounas-Sartoux. "So when we get alerts like this, we can't ignore them."
The EU and French regulations set the mercury limit in tuna at 1mg/kg – three times higher than the 0.3 mgs/kg threshold set by the WHO and which applies to other fish species.
"So why is there an exemption for tuna, with a level of one milligram per kilo? It's because, in reality, they realised that tuna couldn't meet this standard," Pérole said. "So we decided to suspend tuna until the mercury level accepted in tuna returns to the standard for other fish."
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Why is there mercury in tuna?
Over the past two centuries, the concentration of mercury in the oceans has increased by 300 per cent.
The toxic metal first builds up in the air, released by mining and burning coal. Some 2,500 tonnes are emitted into the atmosphere in this way every year.
Mercury then passes into the oceans through rainfall, but mainly through gas exchange.
Once in the water – scientists have found traces of mercury down to depths of 4,500 metres, with bacteria transforming the mercury into methylmercury.
This organic form is particularly dangerous since it's easily absorbed by living organisms and stored in their bodies.
As a predator at the top of the food chain, tuna accumulate heavy metals from the already-contaminated smaller fish they consume.
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Respecting EU thresholds
According to the Bloom and Foodwatch report, the highest concentration of mercury was found in French brand Petit Navire at 3.9 mg/kg.
But the supplier has denied the claims and maintained it respects French and European mercury threshold regulations.
“Consuming Petit Navire products is perfectly safe for consumers. The safety and well-being of our consumers is a top priority” Petit Navire spokesperson Cyrine Triki said in an interview, adding that monthly test on tuna species in various supply zones were carried "with the support of independent laboratories accredited by French and European health authorities".
"The results of these tests have never revealed mercury levels in excess of current European standards, averaging between 0.2 and 0.3 mg/kg, or 70 to 80 per cent of mercury levels” she said.
The eight local councils are calling on the agriculture and health ministries to defend the lowering of tuna-specific standards both within France and at the EU level.
