All tuna is contaminated with mercury, a powerful neurotoxin classified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as one of the ten chemicals of greatest concern to health, alongside asbestos and lead. However, the standards governing mercury levels in tuna have been tailored to allow the sale of contaminated tuna to continue.

Once ingested, mercury (and especially methylmercury, the form encountered in fish) is difficult to remove from the body and regular consumption of this toxin, even in low doses, can have harmful long-term effects on human health. Many studies have documented the damages caused by methylmercury not only to the neurological, cognitive and motor systems of fetuses, but also to the neuromotor, cardiovascular, immune, renal and reproductive systems of children and adults exposed to low levels.

BLOOM is running a European campaign to put an end to this public health scandal and force the retail sector to take urgent action.

Current standards that do not protect our health

Established in 1993 by the European commission, the maximum limits thresholds for mercury in fish were fixed so as not to hinder the fish market, without any consideration for public health. This is the result of intense lobbying efforts from the fishing industry, who were well aware of the mercury contamination of their products. As early as 1985, tuna industry representatives infiltrated international and European institutions to influence the adoption of sanitary regulations and protect their economic activities.  

As a result, the EU set the tuna thresholds at more than three times higher than those for other fish species such as cod or herring, despite there being no valid health justification for a differentiated limit.

Changing these standards to better protect consumers

Today, these absurd regulations are still in effect, and the doubt-manufacturing strategy implemented by the tuna industry continues, creating a smokescreen around the contamination of tuna with mercury.

It is unacceptable that public health is being compromised for the benefit of few. BLOOM believes the responsibility for this contamination should not fall on consumers, but on those who produce and market these products: industry players. BLOOM aims to break the silence surrounding the influence of tuna lobbies and to reform current regulations towards a more protective limit for mercury in tuna.

We are putting pressure on European and national institutions, as well as on the private sector. Following BLOOM’s revelations, the retail sector has a moral and ethical duty to take urgent measures to protect the health of its consumers. It can no longer hide behind excessive laws designed to ensure the sale of tuna at the expense of public health.

>>> READ OUR REPORT HERE <<<

Our latest updates:  

• 12 February 2026: In France, ANSES (the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety) published a new national study (EAT3, 2026) using the latest scientific knowledge to assess the risk posed by mercury to the French population. In this study, it assesses, in particular, the proportion of the population exposed to mercury beyond safe levels. To do this, ANSES uses a Tolerable Weekly Intake (TWI) – the threshold above which regular intake of mercury is harmful to health. The key change is that ANSES has used a TWI that is twice as protective as in its previous studies! In practical terms, this means that ANSES now considers the mercury dose at which exposure to risk begins to be half the previous level. This is a significant milestone victory for BLOOM, which had already highlighted, back in October 2024, the long-standing influence of the tuna industry on the assessment of the health risk posed by mercury intake.
• 29 August 2025: In France, Mercury Exposure: Eight City Halls Remove Tuna from School Canteens 
• 6 May 2025: In Europe, The European Commission has reopened discussions on mercury limits that have previously been insufficient to protect public health. On 6 May 2025, the Commission brought together experts from Member States to discuss “the appropriateness of the current maximum level for mercury in fresh tuna and on a possible maximum level for mercury in canned tuna have started but are still in an early stage”, this information was disclosed in a letter addressed to BLOOM, sent from the European Commission on 7 April 2025.
• 27 November 2024: In the UK, the national Food Standards Agency directly addressed concerns following BLOOM’s report, reevaluating guidance and offering official guidance. Nursery schools across south Wales and south west England have also banned tinned tuna following the release of our report and conversations with parents and chefs.
• 29 October 2024: In Europe, Mercury contamination: BLOOM exposes a health scandal on an unprecedented scale