Mercury in fish
The European Union does not want to relax the limits for mercury in fish after all. The EU Directorate-General for Health and Consumer Protection has announced that it will not pursue plans to do so. The EU Commission actually wanted to allow a significantly higher dose of the nerve agent in certain types of fish and had already submitted a proposal to this effect three years ago. The consumer organization foodwatch had made the planned relaxation of the limits public at the time and sharply criticized it. Almost 80,000 citizens in Germany and the Netherlands signed an online protest campaign. Now the limit increase is off the table, as confirmed by the responsible EU committee. foodwatch welcomed the step, but at the same time demanded that consumers be better protected from mercury in food.
"Maximum mercury levels for some fish species are already significantly higher than for other Food - relaxing the limits even further would have been absolutely irresponsible, because pregnant women and young children in particular need to be much more consistently protected from this heavy metal," said Matthias Wolfschmidt, international campaign director at foodwatch. The consumer organization called on the European Commission to take measures to reduce citizens' exposure to mercury. For example, it said, the use of pesticides containing heavy metals must be banned as soon as possible and mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants reduced. Both are major entry routes for mercury in the food chain. "Instead of simply raising the maximum mercury levels just so that highly contaminated fish can continue to be sold, the EU Commission must do everything it can to reduce exposure for humans," says Matthias Wolfschmidt.
The European Commission had planned to double the maximum permissible mercury level in predatory fish from one to two milligrams per kilogram of fish. This was intended to allow the fishing industry to legally market large quantities of its catch, which is highly contaminated with mercury. Studies by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) show that large predatory fish at the end of the food chain, such as swordfish and tuna, in particular, are often contaminated with mercury at significantly higher levels than the current limits actually allow. Today, about 50 percent of the catch may not be sold - the planned relaxation of the limits would have resulted in only 14.5 percent of the catch being classified as unsaleable. This would have significantly increased the health risks for consumers, according to foodwatch. In a working group meeting in September at the relevant SCOPAFF committee (Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed), the EU Commission announced that it would not be raising the limits after all. This is shown by an official summary of the meeting now published in November.
Mercury is a heavy metal that is highly toxic to humans. It is released into the air by coal-fired power plants, for example, or into soil and water as a component of agrochemicals. In the sea, it becomes methyl mercury, which is 100 times more toxic and is ingested by fish. The Pollution of the world's oceans with the nerve agent poses a serious health risk, of which the German government warns pregnant women and (small) children in particular. The heavy metal can lead to developmental disorders in the fetus and be responsible for a number of nerve disorders in adults. Predatory fish at the end of the food chain, such as shark, swordfish and tuna, are particularly highly contaminated with mercury.
More links:
https://www.efsa.europa.eu
www.foodwatch.org/de/informieren/quecksilber-in-fisch/mehr-zum-thema/hintergrund/tinyurl.com
