California sues grocers over mercury in fish




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“GENERALLY, FISH are an important source of protein,” Attorney General Bill Lockyer said in filing the lawsuit last Friday. “But consumers deserve to know when they are being exposed to chemicals that can cause cancer, birth defects and reproductive harm.”
The five chains are Safeway, Kroger, Albertsons, Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods. It’s possible other defendants could be added, Lockyer spokesman Tom Dresslar told MSNBC.com.
The suit asks the court to prohibit the stores from selling the fish until they post a mercury warning. The complaint does not cover canned tuna.
Lockyer said the grocers violated Proposition 65, a state ballot initiative passed in 1986 that requires businesses to provide “clear and reasonable” warnings before exposing people to known carcinogens and reproductive toxins.
The suit does not stipulate a type of warning, such as on packaging or at a fish counter. Dresslar said that would be decided by a court or a possible out-of-court settlement. In any case, he added, “it would not be a sign posted on a bulletin board at the entrance to a store where you also have ‘room for rent’ signs.”
The defendants could also face millions in civil penalties. Under Proposition 65 and the state’s Unfair Competition Act, each defendant is liable for civil penalties of up to $2,500 per day for each violation.

SIGN AT FISH COUNTERS?
Dresslar stressed, however, that a warning system, not monetary fines, is the “main objective” and that the state was talking to the grocers to try to reach a mutually agreed resolution.
The California Grocers Association said it hoped to broker a deal as early as Friday. “We’re working with the attorney general’s office on proposed signage,” said spokesman Dave Heylen. The proposal would have signage at fish counters and identify swordfish, shark and tuna as species of concern.
Heylen said that if the state and the association can agree on signage, the association would then take the proposal to its members.

Besides nature's own emissions, humans release mercury as well, mostly via the air and eventually into water where fish absorb particles.

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HEALTH RISKS

Lockyer’s office said the lawsuit was not intended to discourage people from eating fish, but to ensure that consumers can make informed decisions about what to eat.
Studies in recent years have indicated a health risk associated with fish species, particularly swordfish and shark, that have high levels of methylmercury, a form of mercury ingested by fish as they eat other marine life.
The mercury gets deposited into water after being released into the air from power plants and other industries. Fish species higher up the food chain tend to have higher methylmercury levels since many consume smaller fish.
In March 2001, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration advised pregnant women, and women of child-bearing age who may become pregnant, not to eat swordfish or shark because of that risk.
Those women are also advised to eat no more than an average of 12 ounces of fish per week. A typical serving size of fish is 3 to 6 ounces.
The primary reproductive danger posed by methylmercury is to the nervous system of the fetus, according to the FDA.
In California, methylmercury is listed as a cancer-causing substance. Studies have suggested it affects the brain and nervous system, can cause behavioral problems and lower intelligence in children, and has been linked in recent studies to impairments of immune and reproductive systems and cardiovascular disease.

ACTIVISTS TESTED FISH
The lawsuit followed laboratory tests taken on behalf of two California groups, the Turtle Island Restoration Network and As You Sow.
The groups sampled fresh swordfish and tuna from markets run by the five supermarket chains. They also sampled fish from Costco and Red Lobster, a national restaurant chain.
The swordfish samples “revealed dangerously high levels of methylmercury,” the groups said, while the tuna “showed dangerous levels ... though lower than that found in swordfish.”
Swordfish levels at the markets were two to three times higher than that recommended by the World Health Organization, said Doug Israel, project director at the Turtle Island Restoration Network.
Israel was surprised that the grocers association was working on signage at fish counters and called it a “great” solution if association members buy in.
The network’s involvement is tied to its campaign against swordfishing practices that accidentally trap endangered leatherback sea turtles in the fish lines.

FEDERAL, STATE ACTIONS
Israel noted that Proposition 65 gives California a unique tool to require a health warning, whereas other states leave that type of action to the FDA.
“Unfortunately,” he added, “the Food and Drug Administration, and the Bush administration in general, has shown itself to be beholden to special interests, and they have dragged their feet on this issue for too long.”


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The groups don’t expect states to adopt their own Proposition 65, but they are hoping California’s action will encourage more state health agencies to alert hospitals and doctors about the risks.
In any case, Israel said the groups would still move forward with their own lawsuit if an agreement isn’t worked out. Red Lobster, in particular, was singled out by the testing, Israel said, with its samples showing three to four times the World Health Organization recommendation.

NBC reports on mercury risks


		Jan. 22 — A lawsuit by California’s attorney general over mercury in seafood has activists hoping that other states will also do more to warn consumers about the health risks of certain fish. California is suing five major grocery chains, demanding they warn customers that tuna, swordfish and shark often contain mercury in higher amounts than other fish.