Seafood Testing Up On Mercury Concerns

AMY SUNG

NEW YORK — Led by a recent report in The New York Times on high levels of mercury discovered in a sampling of tuna from several sushi restaurants here, consumer concerns about mercury in tuna and other seafood are on the rise again. In response, several retailers are signing up with programs designed to educate their shoppers about the issue, or to test and screen seafood for mercury levels.

“We looked at sushi nationally in grocery-store-bought fish in approximately 23 cities, and we found higher levels of mercury than we expected, quite frankly, especially in the tuna steaks,” said Jackie Savitz, senior director of the Pollution Campaign for Oceana, a Washington-based marine advocacy group.

“The level that we found in fresh tuna was about double what the [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] had reported in the past, which put it on par with other fish on the FDA's do not eat list, like king mackerel.”

The group's new report, “Hold the Mercury,” includes the results of mercury tests on 94 fish samples collected by Oceana staff and volunteers from sushi bars and grocery stores from cities across the country. One-third of sushi tuna samples exceeded the FDA's “action level” of 1 part per million, Savitz said. Oceana has been urging retailers to commit to posting advisory signs with information about the issue and advice from the FDA.

Kroger and Harris Teeter are the most recent retailers that have signed on to work with Oceana, and they have agreed to post signage at their seafood counters. Safeway, Whole Foods, Wild Oats, Trader Joe's and the Supervalu-owned Albertsons stores have been posting the signs as well.

“I'm hoping that this news will actually stimulate even more companies to come on board,” Savitz said, “because it's getting to the point now where the number of companies that aren't posting is really getting smaller and smaller. It's going to start to look bad for [those that don't have the signage] — why do these other companies care about their customers and you don't? We think the signs are a really simple and inexpensive solution.

Other retailers, including New York City's Gourmet Garage, which was stung by the original Times cover story, are adopting stricter screening procedures, with the help of new mercury testing equipment.

“We were right up there in the mercury content with the best sushi restaurants in America, like Nobu, Blue Ribbon and Masa, and our fish had the same really high mercury content,” said Andy Arons, owner of the five-store Gourmet Garage chain.

When Arons received the call from the Times about the mercury content in his stores' tuna, he immediately pulled the bluefin and replaced it with yellowfin, which typically has a much lower mercury content.

Looking for a more long-term solution, the company began looking for a way to test and screen all of its sushi tuna, and recently signed up with San Rafael, Calif.-based Micro Analytical Systems Inc.'s Safe Harbor program. Only seafood with mercury levels well below the FDA standards is certified with the Safe Harbor seal. The highest mercury level that can receive certification is 0.8 parts per million, which is 20% below the FDA's action level. A majority of the tested mercury levels under the program are much lower.

“Safe Harbor has this technology where they test at the dock and it takes a minute, so it's really the only technology in the country where you can do it on the spot and still keep the fish fresh,” Arons said. “So, we started using them this past week, and we've had great success.”

Arons added that the only problem to date is the expense of having to overnight the certified tuna from the West Coast.

“We're currently establishing lines of supply from the West Coast, because that's where their [MASI's] equipment is at this point,” he said. “We're working with a local vendor, trying to set up some machinery with Safe Harbor, the Safe Harbor proprietary equipment on the East Coast, so that's a longer-term goal.”

Arons also put up a large sign reminding consumers to be aware of the mercury issue after the Times article was published.

MASI is currently working on establishing more partnerships with retailers, according to Matt Stuart, spokesman for MASI. The company's certification program trains seafood counter staff with talking points, and provides signage and brochures for shoppers.

Stuart said that the certification, along with the staff training, has helped boost seafood sales at chains including Bristol Farms and Holiday Quality Foods. Both chains are based in California, where retailers are required by state law to post warnings about mercury at seafood counters.