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Who's Afraid of Bluefin Tuna?

Adding to the confusion around what to order at the sushi bar if you are concerned about food safety (and sustainability), the New York Times' investigation of mercury levels in tuna served in Manhattan restaurants raises many more questions than it answers. The Times reports that 5 of 20 samples tested had mercury levels so high "that a diet of six pieces a week would exceed accepted safety levels. This sounds like scary and bad news for restaurateurs and sushi lovers. Statistically speaking, how relevant are these findings? There has not been much research into the impact of high mercury consumption in adults, so how scared should we be? How variable are mercury levels from fish to fish? Do mercury...

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5 Comments | Posted by Alaina Browne, January 23, 2008 at 12:15 PM
Tagged: bluefin tuna, food safety, mercury, sushi, tuna

I'll Have the Bluefin Tuna, Please. Sorry, the Ocean Just Ran Out

The European Union has just ordered its members to stop reeling in bluefin tuna for the rest of year. Here's how the New York Times is interpreting this: That may seem like a positive step toward saving the species, but it comes because the union’s fishing fleets have already caught their quota for the year — a quota that scientists say is twice as large as it should be.The most immediate practical impact outside the fishing industry falls on restaurant chefs faced with a sudden hole in their menus. The longer-term question is how to manage the world’s ever-deepening bluefin addiction. Do we have a bluefin tuna addiction? And are chefs worried about this?...

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1 Comment | Posted by Ed Levine, September 19, 2007 at 5:00 PM
Tagged: bluefin tuna, fishing, tuna